Editing Charles Tupper (section)

===Tupper's role in securing Canadian Confederation===
In the run-up to the 1859 Nova Scotia election, Tupper had been unwilling to commit to the idea of a union with the other [[British North American]] colonies.<ref name="ODNB"/> By 1860, however, he had reconsidered his position.<ref name="ODNB"/> Tupper outlined his changed position in a lecture delivered at [[Saint John, New Brunswick]], entitled "The Political Condition of British North America".<ref name="ODNB"/> The title of the lecture was a homage to [[John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham|Lord Durham]]'s 1838 ''[[Report on the Affairs of British North America]]'' and assessed the condition of British North America in the two decades following Lord Durham's famous report. Although Tupper was interested in the potential economic consequences of a union with the other colonies, the bulk of his lecture addressed the place of British North America within the wider [[British Empire]].<ref name="ODNB"/> Having been convinced by his 1858 trip to London that British politicians were unwilling to pay attention to small colonies such as Nova Scotia, Tupper argued that Nova Scotia and the other [[Maritimes|Maritime]] colonies "could never hope to occupy a position of influence or importance except in connection with their larger sister Canada".<ref name="ODNB"/> Tupper therefore proposed to create a "British America", which "stretching from the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] to the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], would in a few years exhibit to the world a great and powerful organization, with British Institutions, British sympathies, and British feelings, bound indissolubly to [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|the throne of England]]".<ref name="ODNB"/>

====Charlottetown Conference, September 1864====
[[Image:CharlottetownConference1864.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Tupper and other delegates of the [[Charlottetown Conference]] on the steps of [[Government House (Prince Edward Island)|Government House]], September 1864]]
With the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]] in 1861, Tupper worried that a victorious [[Union (American Civil War)|North]] would turn northward and conquer the British North American provinces.<ref name="ODNB"/> This caused him to redouble his commitment to union, which he now saw as essential to protecting the British colonies against American aggression.<ref name="ODNB"/> Since he thought that full union among the British North American colonies would be unachievable for many years, on March 28, 1864, Tupper instead proposed a [[Maritime Union]] which would unite the Maritime provinces in advance of a projected future union with the Province of Canada.<ref name="ODNB"/> A conference to discuss the proposed union of Nova Scotia, [[New Brunswick]] and [[Prince Edward Island]] was scheduled to be held in [[Charlottetown]] in September 1864.<ref name="ODNB"/>

Tupper was pleasantly surprised when the [[Premier of the Province of Canada]], [[John A. Macdonald]], asked to be allowed to attend the [[Charlottetown Conference]].<ref name="ODNB"/> The Conference, which was co-chaired by Tupper and [[New Brunswick Premier]] [[Samuel Leonard Tilley]], welcomed the Canadian delegation and asked them to join the conference.<ref name="ODNB"/> The conference proved to be a smashing success, and resulted in an agreement-in-principle to form a union of the four colonies.<ref name="ODNB"/>

====Quebec Conference, October 1864====
The [[Quebec Conference, 1864|Quebec Conference]] was held on October 10, as a follow-up to the Charlottetown Conference, with [[Colony of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]] only attending to observe.<ref name="ODNB"/> Tupper headed the Nova Scotia delegation to the Quebec Conference.<ref name="ODNB"/> He supported a legislative union of the colonies (which would mean that there would be only one legislature for the united colonies).<ref name="ODNB"/> However, the [[French Canadian]] delegates to the conference, notably [[George-Étienne Cartier]] and [[Hector-Louis Langevin]], strongly opposed the idea of a legislative union. Tupper threw his weight behind Macdonald's proposal for a [[Federalism|federal]] union, which would see each colony retain its own legislature, with a central legislature in charge of common interests.<ref name="ODNB"/> Tupper argued in favour of a strong central government as a second best to a pure legislative union.<ref name="ODNB"/> He felt, however, that the local legislatures should retain the ability to levy duties on their natural resources.<ref name="ODNB"/>

Concerned that a united legislature would be dominated by the Province of Canada, Tupper pushed for regional representation in the upper house of the confederated colonies (a goal which would be achieved in the makeup of the [[Senate of Canada]]).<ref name="ODNB"/>

On the topic of which level of government would control customs in the union, Tupper ultimately agreed to accept the formula by which the federal government controlled customs in exchange for an annual subsidy of 80 cents a year for each Nova Scotian.<ref name="ODNB"/> This deal was ultimately not good for Nova Scotia, which had historically received most of its government revenue from customs, and as a result, Nova Scotia entered Confederation with a [[Government budget deficit|deficit]].<ref name="ODNB"/>
[[Image:YoungTupper2.JPG|150px|thumb|left|Tupper in 1865]]

====Aftermath of the Quebec Conference====
Although Tupper had given up much at the Quebec Conference, he thought that he would be able to convince Nova Scotians that the deal he negotiated was in some good for Nova Scotia.<ref name="ODNB"/> He was therefore surprised when the deal he had negotiated at Quebec was roundly criticized by Nova Scotians: the Opposition Leader [[Adams George Archibald]] was the only member of the Liberal caucus to support Confederation.<ref name="ODNB"/> Former premier Joseph Howe now organized an [[Anti-Confederation Party]] and anti-Confederation sentiments were so strong that Tupper decided to postpone a vote of the legislature on the question of Confederation for a full year.<ref name="ODNB"/> Tupper now organized supporters of Confederation into a [[Confederation Party]] to push for the union.<ref name="ODNB"/>

In April 1866, Tupper secured a motion of the Nova Scotia legislature in favour of union by promising that he would renegotiate the [[Seventy-two Resolutions]] at the upcoming [[London Conference of 1866|conference in London]].<ref name="ODNB"/>

====London Conference, 1866====
Joseph Howe had begun a pamphlet campaign in the UK to turn British public opinion against the proposed union.<ref name="ODNB"/> Therefore, when Tupper arrived in the UK, he immediately initiated a campaign of pamphlets and letters to the editor designed to refute Howe's assertions.<ref name="ODNB"/>

Although Tupper did attempt to renegotiate the 72 Resolutions as he had promised, he was ineffective in securing any major changes.<ref name="ODNB"/> The only major change agreed to at the London Conference arguably did not benefit Nova Scotia – responsibility for the [[fisheries]], which was going to be a joint federal-provincial responsibility under the Quebec agreement, became solely a federal concern.<ref name="ODNB"/>

====The final push for Confederation====
Following passage of the [[British North America Act, 1867|British North America Act]] in the wake of the London Conference, Tupper returned to Nova Scotia to undertake preparations for the union,<ref name="ODNB"/> which came into existence on July 1, 1867, and on July 4, Tupper turned over responsibility for the government of Nova Scotia to [[Hiram Blanchard]].<ref name="ODNB"/>

In honour of the role he had played in securing Confederation, Tupper was made a [[Companion in The Most Honourable Order of the Bath]] in 1867.<ref name="ODNB"/> He was now entitled to use the postnomial letters "CB".