Editing Canadian Confederation (section)

===London Conference===
{{main|London Conference of 1866}}
[[File:Queen Victoria 1887.jpg|thumb|[[Queen Victoria]] granted [[royal assent]] to the ''[[British North America Act (1867)|British North America Act]]'' on March 29, 1867]]

Following the Quebec Conference, the Province of Canada's legislature passed a bill approving the union. The union proved more controversial in the Maritime provinces, however, and it was not until 1866 that New Brunswick and Nova Scotia passed union resolutions, while Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland continued to opt against joining.

In December 1866, sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia travelled to London, where [[Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon|the Earl of Carnarvon]] presented each to [[Queen Victoria]] in private [[audience (meeting)|audience]],<ref name="Lady Carnarvon">{{cite news |url=https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/a-constitutional-walk-for-canada-day/ |title=A Constitutional Walk for Canada Day |date=June 30, 2017 |work=Lady Carnarvon |access-date=June 19, 2018}}</ref> as well as holding court for their wives and daughters.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bousfield|1991|p=16}}</ref> To the Nova Scotian delegates, the Queen said, "I take the deepest interest in [Confederation], for I believe it will make [the provinces] great and prosperous."<ref>{{citation| url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/victoria#:~:text=Queen%20Victoria%20favoured%20Confederation%20and,streets%2C%20communities%20and%20physical%20features.| last1=Rayburn| first1=Alan| last2=Harris| first2=Carolyn| title=Queen Victoria| encyclopedia=THe Canadian Encyclopedia| date=September 8, 2015| publisher=Historica Canada| access-date=February 20, 2023}}</ref>

At meetings held at the Westminster Palace Hotel, the delegates reviewed and approved the 72 resolutions; although Charles Tupper had promised to anti-union forces in Nova Scotia that he would push for amendments, he was unsuccessful in getting any passed. Now known as the ''London Resolutions'', the conference's decisions were forwarded to the [[Colonial Office]].

After breaking for Christmas, the delegates reconvened in January 1867 and began drafting the ''[[British North America Act (1867)|British North America Act]]''. The 4th Earl of Carnarvon continued to have a central role in drafting the act at [[Highclere Castle]] alongside the first [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister of Canada]] Macdonald, Cartier and Galt, who signed the visitor book in 1866.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/community/highclere-and-canada/ |title=Community Category: Highclere and Canada |website=Lady Carnarvon |access-date=June 19, 2018}}</ref> After suggestions of 'Franklin' and 'Guelfenland',<ref name="Lady Carnarvon" /> they agreed the new country should be called ''Canada'', Canada East should be renamed ''Quebec'' and Canada West should be renamed ''Ontario''.<ref name=OlsonShadle1996oi>{{cite book |first1=James Stuart |last1=Olson |first2=Robert |last2=Shadle |title=Historical Dictionary of the British Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0VnzMelzm8C&pg=PA916 |year=1996 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-29367-2 |page=916}}</ref> There was, however, heated debate about how the new country should be designated. Ultimately, the delegates elected to call the new country the Dominion of Canada, after "kingdom" and "confederation", among other options, were rejected. The term ''dominion'' was allegedly suggested by Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley.<ref name="Rayburn2001qwe">{{cite book |first=Alan |last=Rayburn |title=Naming Canada: Stories About Canadian Place Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aiUZMOypNB4C&pg=PA18 |date=March 1, 2001 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-8293-0 |page=18}}</ref>

The delegates had completed their draft of the ''British North America Act'' by February 1867. The act was presented to Queen Victoria on February 11, 1867. The bill was introduced in the [[House of Lords]] the next day. The bill was quickly approved by the House of Lords, and then also quickly approved by the [[British House of Commons]]. (The [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby|Lord Derby]] was [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister of the United Kingdom]] at the time.) The act received [[royal assent]] on March 29, 1867, and set July 1, 1867, as the date for union.<ref name="Moore2011">{{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Moore |title=1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gmgBsaRJbTQC&pg=PT159 |date=July 27, 2011 |publisher=Random House Digital, Inc. |isbn=978-1-55199-483-3 |page=159 |author-link=Christopher Moore (Canadian historian)}}</ref>