Editing Canadian Confederation (section)

==Confederation timeline==

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Confederation timeline: 1863 to 1867
|-
! colspan="3"|1863 to 1864
|-
! Date !! Event !! Result
|-
|July–September 1863 ||Lieutenant Governor Gordon encourages Maritime union || [[Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore|Arthur Gordon]], newly appointed British [[Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick|lieutenant governor]] of [[New Brunswick]], encourages [[Samuel Leonard Tilley]], [[premier of New Brunswick]], and [[Charles Tupper]], [[premier of Nova Scotia]], to consider the possibility of a union of the three Maritime provinces: New Brunswick, [[Nova Scotia]], and [[Prince Edward Island]]<ref>Donald Creighton, ''The Road to Confederation'' (Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 1964; re-issue 2012), pp. 16–31.</ref>
|-
|March 28, 1864||Nova Scotia resolution for Maritime union conference||Premier Tupper introduces resolution in [[Nova Scotia House of Assembly]] to appoint delegates to a conference of the three Maritime provinces to consider the possibility of Maritime union; union only to occur if approved by statutes passed by each of the three provinces and the Queen; resolution passes with all-party support<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 32.</ref><ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00946_115/89?r=0&s=3 ''Journal and proceedings of the House of Assembly of the province of Nova Scotia, Session 1864'', March 28, 1864, p. 87.]</ref>
|-
|April 9, 1864||New Brunswick resolution for Maritime union conference||Premier Tilley introduces resolution in [[Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick|New Brunswick House of Assembly]] to appoint delegates to a conference of the three Maritime provinces to consider the possibility of Maritime union; union only to occur if approved by statutes passed by each of the three provinces and the Queen; resolution passes with all-party support<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 32–33.</ref><ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00951_81/230?r=0&s=1 ''Journal of the House of Assembly of the Province of New Brunswick, from the sixteenth February to the thirteenth April, 1864'', April 9, 1864, pp. 228–229.]</ref>
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|April 18, 1864||Prince Edward Island resolution for Maritime union conference||[[John Hamilton Gray (Prince Edward Island politician)|John Hamilton Gray]], [[premier of Prince Edward Island]], introduces resolution in [[Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island]] to appoint delegates to a conference of the three Maritime provinces to consider the possibility of Maritime union; no further action to be taken until report of the Conference be laid before the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly; resolution passes on party lines<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 33–35.</ref><ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00946_115/727?r=0&s=3 Resolution dated April 18, 1864, quoted in ''Journal and proceedings of the House of Assembly of the province of Nova Scotia, Session 1864'', Appendix 24, p. 4.]</ref>
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| June 14, 1864||Report on constitutional reform in [[Province of Canada]]|| [[George Brown (Canadian politician)|George Brown]], member of the [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada]], presents committee report addressing flaws in the constitutional system of the Province of Canada; report favours a federal system of government, either for the two sections of the Province of Canada alone, or for a union of the British North American provinces<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 50–51.</ref><ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00952_23/393?r=0&s=3 ''Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from February 19 to June 30, 1864'', June 14, 1864, pp. 383–384.]</ref>
|-
|June 14, 1864||Government of the Province of Canada falls ||The same day Brown presents the report, the government falls on a [[non-confidence motion]]; stark illustration of the political instability of the Province of Canada; second government to fall in 1864, after only two and a half months in office<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 51–52.</ref>
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|June 14–16, 1864 ||Brown initiates discussions with [[John A. Macdonald]]||Political overtures by Brown to [[John A. Macdonald]], [[George-Étienne Cartier]] and [[Alexander T. Galt]] to seek constitutional changes; Macdonald responds; Brown favours federal constitution for Province of Canada; Macdonald, Cartier and Galt propose seeking union of all eastern British North American provinces<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 52–53, 62–63.</ref>
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|June 17–30, 1864||[[Great Coalition]] formed||Coalition government of [[Liberal-Conservative Party#History|Liberal-Conservatives]] from Canada West (led by Macdonald); [[Reform movement (Upper Canada)|Reformers]] from Canada West (led by Brown); ''[[Parti bleu|Bleus]]'' from Canada East (led by Cartier); and Liberal-Conservatives from Canada East (led by Galt); Coalition agrees to pursue union of eastern British North American provinces; failing that, will seek a federal constitution for the Province of Canada<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 65–69.</ref>
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|June 30, 1864||Canadians ask to attend conference on Maritime Union||[[Governor-General of the Province of Canada|Governor General]] [[Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck|Monck]] sends letters to the Maritime lieutenant governors, requesting that the Province of Canada be permitted to send a delegation to the upcoming conference on Maritime union<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 69.</ref>
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|September 1–9, 1864 || [[Charlottetown Conference]], [[Charlottetown]], Prince Edward Island || Meeting of delegates from Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island; no real discussion of Maritime union; Province of Canada proposal for a union of the British North American provinces gains general support; Conference delegates agree to continue discussions at Quebec; Maritime Union shelved<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 104–131.</ref><ref>[https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/politics-government/canadian-confederation/Pages/charlottetown-conference.aspx#wb-sec Library and Archives Canada: The Charlottetown Conference, September 1–9, 1864.]</ref>
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|October 10–27, 1864 || Quebec Conference, Quebec City, Province of Canada || Delegates from Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and [[Newfoundland Colony|Newfoundland]] meet in Quebec to discuss the Confederation proposal in more detail; Conference passes the [[Quebec Resolutions]], which outline a detailed proposal for Confederation of the British North American provinces<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 132–186.</ref><ref>[https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/politics-government/canadian-confederation/Pages/quebec-conference.aspx Library and Archives Canada: The Québec Conference, October 10–27, 1864.]</ref><ref>[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Seventy-two_resolutions Quebec Resolutions, passed by the Quebec Conference, October 27, 1864.]</ref>
|-
|October 19, 1864 ||[[St. Albans Raid]]||Group of Confederate soldiers travel to Canada and conduct a cross-border raid to St. Albans, Vermont; captured by Canadian authorities; judge in Montreal rejects extradition application and releases them; episode creates considerable tension with the United States government
|-
|October–December 1864||Cabinet crisis in Prince Edward Island||Prince Edward Island cabinet splits over the Quebec Resolutions and Confederation; Attorney General [[Edward Palmer (Canadian politician)|Edward Palmer]], delegate to both the conferences, challenges the proposals; Premier Gray, who supports Confederation, resigns<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 196–199.</ref>
|-
! colspan="3"|1865
|-
! Date !! Event !! Result
|-
|January 7–9, 1865 ||New premier in Prince Edward Island ||[[James Colledge Pope]], opposed to Confederation, becomes premier of Prince Edward Island<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 220–222.</ref>
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|February 3, 1865 || Confederation Debates begin in Province of Canada || Lengthy debates begin in the Parliament of the Province of Canada on the merits of the Confederation project<ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_01461/11?r=0&s=1 ''Parliamentary debates on the subject of the confederation of the British North American provinces, 3rd session, 8th Provincial Parliament of Canada'' (Quebec: Hunter Rose, 1875), February 3, 1864, pp. 1, 13 ("''Confederation Debates''").]</ref>
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|February 6, 1865||Confederation discussed in Newfoundland||Newfoundland premier [[Hugh Hoyles]] states in debates that Confederation would not be rushed through the Legislative Assembly<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 235.</ref>
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|February–March 1865||New Brunswick election||Pro-Confederation government of Premier Tilley defeated by Anti-Confederation group; Anti-Confederation leader, [[Albert James Smith]], becomes premier<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 246–252.</ref>
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|February 20, 1865 || Confederation Debates in Province of Canada ||Quebec Resolutions approved by Legislative Council by vote of 45 to 15<ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_01461/3?r=0&s=4 ''Confederation Debates'', p. iii.]</ref>
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|March 2, 1865||Confederation discussed in Prince Edward Island||Premier Pope states in the Legislative Assembly that any Confederation plan would be put to the voters, and that his government does not support Confederation<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 242.</ref>
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|March 6, 1865 ||Newfoundland postpones decision ||Premier Hoyles proposes to the Legislative Assembly that no decision be taken on the Quebec Resolutions until after the upcoming Newfoundland election<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 241, 262–263.</ref>
|-
|March 10, 1865 || Conclusion of Confederation Debates in Province of Canada ||Quebec resolutions approved by Legislative Assembly by vote of 91 to 33<ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_01461/3?r=0&s=4 ''Confederation Debates'', p. iv.]</ref>
|-
|March 24–31, 1865||Confederation debates in Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island||Premier J.C. Pope leads the Anti-Confederation position in the debates; his brother, [[William Henry Pope (Canadian politician)|William Henry Pope]], leads the Pro-Confederation position; Assembly rejects Confederation by vote of 23 to 5<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 263–265.</ref>
|-
|April 10, 1865||Maritime union raised again in Nova Scotia ||Considerable opposition to Confederation in Nova Scotia; Premier Tupper introduces motion for re-consideration of Maritime union as a stopgap measure<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 265–268.</ref>
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|May 1865 ||Canadian delegation to Britain||Macdonald, Cartier, Galt and Brown travel to Britain to discuss defence of the Province of Canada, now that the US Civil War is over; no firm commitment from British government<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 279–283.</ref>
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|June 24, 1865||Pressure from Britain||The [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Colonial Secretary]], [[Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell|Edward Cardwell]], sends a dispatch to the three Maritime provinces, urging them to accept Confederation to aid imperial defence<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 292–293.</ref>
|-
|July 1865||Britain urges Confederation||Anti-Confederation premier Smith of New Brunswick and [[William Annand]], a member of the Anti-Confederation group in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, travel separately to London to express dissatisfaction with the Confederation proposal; they each meet with Cardwell, the Colonial Secretary; Cardwell advises them that the British government strongly favours Confederation along the lines of the Quebec Resolutions, and will do everything in its power to achieve Confederation<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 295–296.</ref>
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|November 6, 1865||York by{{nbh}}election, New Brunswick||Vacancy in the New Brunswick Assembly forces Anti-Confederation government to call [[by-election]] in York [[Riding (division)#Canada|riding]]; [[Charles Fisher (Canadian politician)|Charles Fisher]], former premier, delegate to Quebec, and strong supporter of Confederation, wins by-election<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 318–320.</ref>
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|November 7, 1865||Newfoundland election ||The leaders of the two parties in the Newfoundland election, [[Frederick Carter]] and Ambrose Shea, had both been delegates to Quebec and support Confederation; Carter wins the election, but overall, the majority of the members of the Assembly do not support Confederation<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 329–330.</ref>
|-
! colspan="3"|1866
|-
! Date !! Event !! Result
|-
|February 20, 1866 ||Newfoundland postpones decision || In first session after the 1865 election, the Newfoundland Legislative Assembly votes to delay any decision on Confederation<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 346–347.</ref>
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|March 12, 1866 ||Governor General Monck intervenes||Monck sends a telegram to Lieutenant Governor Williams, suggesting that Williams make overtures to leader of the Anti-Confederates<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 358.</ref>
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|March 13, 1866 || Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia suggests conference ||Lieutenant Governor Williams summons Annand, leader of the Anti-Confederates in the Assembly, and suggests that Annand propose a new conference, in London, under the supervision of the Imperial government<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 358–359.</ref>
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|April 4, 1866 ||Anti-Confederation proposal for London Conference||William Miller, a leading Anti-Confederate in the Nova Scotia Assembly, proposes that there be another conference, in London<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 361–362.</ref>
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|April 6, 1866 || Legislative Council of New Brunswick supports Confederation ||The Legislative Council of New Brunswick votes in favour of Confederation and the Quebec Resolutions<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 362.</ref><ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00948_44/80?r=0&s=3 ''Journal of the Legislative Council of the province of New Brunswick, 1866'', April 5, 1866, pp. 78–79.]</ref>
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|April 10, 1866 ||Nova Scotia proposal for London Conference||Premier Tupper introduces resolution stating that Confederation is desirable, and therefore the Assembly authorises the lieutenant governor "to appoint delegates to arrange with the Imperial Government a scheme of union which will effectually ensure just provision for the rights and interest of this Province..."<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 366.</ref><ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00946_117/70?r=0&s=3 ''Journal and proceedings of the House of Assembly of the province of Nova Scotia, Session 1866'', April 10, 1866, p. 60.]</ref>
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|April 12–13, 1866||Resignation of Anti-Confederation government of New Brunswick||Premier Smith and his government resign as a result of Lieutenant Governor Gordon accepting the resolution of the Legislative Council, approving of Confederation; Lieutenant Governor Gordon appoints [[Peter Mitchell (politician)|Peter Mitchell]], a supporter of Confederation and delegate to the Quebec Conference, as premier<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 369–370.</ref>
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|April 17, 1866 ||Tupper's resolution passes ||Nova Scotia Assembly passes Tupper's resolution proposing a conference in London, by a vote of 31 to 19<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 368.</ref><ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00946_117/80?r=0&s=3 ''Journal and proceedings of the House of Assembly of the province of Nova Scotia, Session 1866'', April 17, 1866, p. 70.]</ref>
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| May 7–8, 1866||Prince Edward Island rejects Confederation||Further debate in the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly; clear rejection of Confederation<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 372.</ref>
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|May–June 1866||[[1866 New Brunswick general election|New Brunswick election]]||Lieutenant Governor Gordon dissolves the Assembly on advice of the new government; Pro-Confederation group wins elections, with majority of 33 seats compared to 8 seats for Anti-Confederation group<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 371, 386.</ref>
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|June 30, 1866||New Brunswick supports London Conference ||The New Brunswick Legislative Assembly passes a Resolution to appoint delegates for the London Conference to discuss the union of the colonies, under the auspices of the Imperial government, "upon such terms as will secure the just rights and interests of New Brunswick", including a guarantee for the inter-colonial railway<ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00951_83/153?r=0&s=1 ''Journal of the House of Assembly of the Province of New Brunswick, for the second session of the Twentieth General Assembly, and the First Session of the Twenty-First General Assembly'', June 30, 1866, pp. 153–154.]</ref>
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|1866||Last session of Parliament of Province of Canada||Legislative Assembly of Province of Canada passes resolutions setting out proposed constitutions for Ontario and Quebec<ref>[https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00952_26/374?r=0&s=3 ''Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from June 8 to August 15, 1866'', August 11, 1866, pp. 362–368.]</ref>
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|December 4–23, 1866||[[London Conference of 1866|London Conference]] begins||Delegates from Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick meet in London to review and revise the Quebec Resolutions; revisions include guarantee of the inter-colonial railway and strengthening provisions for denominational and separate schools<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 406–417.</ref>
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|December 24, 1866||London Conference concludes||Delegates unanimously approve modified resolutions; Macdonald transmits them to the new Colonial Secretary, [[Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon|Lord Carnarvon]], for consideration<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', p. 417.</ref>
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! colspan="3"|1867
|-
! Date !! Event !! Result
|-
|January–February 1867||Drafting of the bill||Committee of the delegates begin the drafting process to implement the London Resolutions; extensive consultations with Lord Carnarvon and British drafter; bill goes through several drafts<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 418–424.</ref>
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|February–March 1867||Bill passed by British Parliament||Lord Carnarvon introduces the ''British North America Act, 1867'' in the House of Lords; Lord Monck speaks in support; Cardwell, now in opposition, speaks in support in the Commons; bill proceeds through the Lords and the Commons without incident<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 425–430.</ref>
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|March 29, 1867||[[Queen Victoria]] grants [[Royal Assent]]||''British North America Act, 1867'' enacted as Imperial statute
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|July 1, 1867||Proclamation of ''British North America Act, 1867''||Canada is created
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|July 1, 1867||Macdonald appointed first prime minister of Canada||Governor General Monck appoints Macdonald as first prime minister of Canada; Macdonald then sets up the first federal government, appointing the federal Cabinet and the lieutenant governors of the four provinces.<ref>Creighton, ''Road to Confederation'', pp. 431–435.</ref>
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|July 1, 1867||Continuation of New Brunswick government||Premier Mitchell continues in office as the first post-Confederation premier of New Brunswick
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|July 4, 1867||Continuation of Nova Scotia government||Lieutenant Governor Williams appoints [[Hiram Blanchard]] as first post-Confederation premier of Nova Scotia, after Premier Tupper resigns to stand for election to the federal [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]]
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|July 15, 1867||Creation of first Quebec government||[[Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau|Lieutenant Governor Belleau]] appoints [[Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau]] as first premier of Quebec
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|July 16, 1867||Creation of first Ontario government||[[Henry William Stisted|Lieutenant Governor Stisted]] appoints [[John Sandfield Macdonald]] as first premier of Ontario
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|August–September 1867||First elections under the ''British North America Act, 1867''||Elections for [[1867 Canadian federal election|federal Parliament]], Legislative Assemblies of [[1867 Ontario general election|Ontario]], [[1867 Quebec general election|Quebec]] and [[1867 Nova Scotia general election|Nova Scotia]] (no election in New Brunswick since there had been an election the previous year)
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|}