Editing Canadian Confederation (section)

===Charlottetown Conference===
{{Main|Charlottetown Conference}}
In the spring of 1864, [[New Brunswick premier]] [[Samuel Leonard Tilley]], [[Nova Scotia premier]] [[Charles Tupper]], and [[Prince Edward Island premier]] [[John Hamilton Gray (Prince Edward Island politician)|John Hamilton Gray]] were contemplating the idea of a [[Maritime Union]] which would join their three colonies together.{{sfn|Waite|1962|p=56}}

[[File:Charlottetown Conference Delegates, September 1864.JPG|left|thumb|Delegates of the [[Charlottetown Conference]] on the steps of [[Government House (Prince Edward Island)|Government House]], September 1864]]

The government of the Province of Canada surprised the Maritime governments by asking if the Province of Canada could be included in the negotiations. The request was channelled through the governor general, Monck, to London and accepted by the Colonial Office.{{sfn|Gwyn|2008}} After several years of legislative paralysis in the Province of Canada caused by the need to maintain a double legislative majority (a majority of both the Canada East and Canada West delegates in the Province of Canada's legislature), Macdonald had led his [[Liberal-Conservative Party]] into the Great Coalition with Cartier's {{lang|fr|[[Parti bleu]]}} and [[George Brown (Canadian politician)|George Brown]]'s [[Clear Grits]].{{sfn|Careless|1963|p=233}} Macdonald, Cartier, and Brown felt union with the other British colonies might be a way to solve the political problems of the Province of Canada.{{sfn|Careless|1963|p=233}}

The [[Charlottetown Conference]] began on September 1, 1864. Since the agenda for the meeting had already been set, the delegation from the Province of Canada was initially not an official part of the Conference. The issue of Maritime Union was deferred and the Canadians were formally allowed to join and address the Conference.{{sfn|Waite|1962|p=83}}

No minutes from the Charlottetown Conference survive, but it is known Cartier and Macdonald presented arguments in favour of a union of the three colonies,{{sfn|Gwyn|2008|p=304}} Alexander Tilloch Galt presented the Province of Canada's proposals on the financial arrangements of such a union,{{sfn|Gwyn|2008|p=304}} and George Brown presented a proposal for what form a united government might take.{{sfn|Waite|1962|p=87}} The Canadian delegation's proposal for the governmental system involved:
# preservation of ties with Great Britain
# residual jurisdiction left to a central authority
# a bicameral system including a Lower House with representation by population (rep by pop) and an Upper House with representation based on regional, rather than provincial, equality
# responsible government at the federal and provincial levels
# the appointment of a [[Governor General of Canada|Canadian governor general]] by the [[British Crown]]

Other proposals attractive to the politicians from the Maritime colonies were:
# assumption of provincial debt by the central government{{sfn|Waite|1962|p=85}}
# revenues from the central government apportioned to the provinces on the basis of population{{sfn|Waite|1962|p=85}}
# the building of an intercolonial railway to link Montreal and Halifax, giving Canada access to an ice-free winter port and the Maritimes easy access to Canada and [[Rupert's Land]]{{sfn|Gwyn|2008|p=307}}

By September 7, 1864, the delegates from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island gave a positive answer to the Canadian delegation, expressing the view the federation of all of the provinces was considered desirable if the terms of union could be made satisfactory{{sfn|Gwyn|2008|p=305}} and the question of Maritime Union was waived.{{sfn|Waite|1962|p=87}}

After the Conference adjourned on September 9, there were further meetings between delegates held at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Saint John, New Brunswick|Saint John]], and [[Fredericton]].{{sfn|Waite|1962|p=88}}{{sfn|Gwyn|2008|p=306}} These meetings evinced enough interest that the delegates decided to hold a second Conference.
[[File:ThomasDArcyMcGee.jpg|right|thumb|Thomas D'Arcy McGee in 1868]]

====Delegates' reactions====
One of the most important purposes of the Charlottetown Conference was the introduction of Canadians to the leaders from the Maritime Provinces and vice versa. At this point, there was no railway link from Quebec City to Halifax, and the people of each region had little to do with one another. [[Thomas D'Arcy McGee]] was one of the few Canadian delegates who had been to the Maritimes, when he had gone down earlier that summer with a trade mission of Canadian businessmen, journalists and politicians.{{sfn|Gwyn|2008|p=306}}

George Brown remarked in a letter to his wife Anne that at a party given by the premier of PEI, Colonel John Hamilton Gray, he met a woman who had never been off the island in her entire life. Nevertheless, he found Prince Edward Islanders to be "amazingly civilized".{{sfn|Gwyn|2008|p=305}}

====Press and popular reaction====
Reaction to the Charlottetown Conference varied among the different newspapers. In the Maritimes, there was concern that the smooth Canadians with their sparkling champagne and charming speeches were outsmarting the delegates of the smaller provinces. "From all accounts it looks as if these [Canadian] gentlemen had it all their own way; ... and that, what with their arguments and what with their blandishments, (they gave a champagne lunch on board the ''Victoria'' where Mr. McGee's wit sparkled brightly as the wine), they carried the Lower Province delegates a little off their feet."<ref>Fredericton ''Head Quarters'', of September 14, 1864, cited in Waite, p. 90</ref>

The delegates from the Quebec conference considered if the resolutions would be better suited for acceptance if a popular vote were held on them. However, due to the divide amongst religious groups and general mistrust between areas in Canada, they believed that such a vote would be defeated. Thus, they went ahead with the resolutions on their own volition.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Canada A Country by Consent: Confederation: Reaction to Conference Proposal|url=http://www.canadahistoryproject.ca/1867/1867-04-reaction.html|access-date=February 21, 2021|website=www.canadahistoryproject.ca}}</ref>