Julien and Jordan British North America's key events 1840-1867

British North America Key events 1840-1867

Period: Jan 1, 1840 to Jan 1, 1870

Elective representitves

Dec 31, 1840

By the 1840s the four atlantic colonies (New brunswick, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia) and the united provinces Canadas had all been granted assembiles with elected representiteves, but most power remained in the hands of the un-elected elite.

Act of Union

Feb 10, 1841

Upper and Lower Canada join to become the Province of Canada (Canada West and East)

Election

Dec 28, 1848

Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine were granted an election victory in 1848

Responsible Government

Dec 31, 1848

In 1848 Nova Scotia became the first colony to achive reponsible government in the British Empire. Support for responsible government slowly grew with the leadership of Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine.

Burning of the Legislature

Apr 25, 1849

By compensating citizens for property damaged during the rebellions a decade earlier, the government was in the eyes of the merchants, admitting the legitimacy of the uprising. Descending on the new Parliament building on 25 April 1849, Montreal's anglophone conservatives burnt the building to the ground.

Charlotte town confrence

Sep 1, 1864

The Charlottetown Conference of September 1864 set Confederation in motion. The meeting brought together representitives from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island to discuss the union of their three provinces.

Quebec Confrence

Oct 10, 1864

In 1864, politicians from the five British North American colonies gathered in Québec City to continue discussions, started in Charlottetown the previous month, about confederation and the making of a country.

Provinces joining canada confederation

Jul 1, 1867

New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec all joined Canadian confederation on July 1st, 1867.

Canadian Confederation

Jul 1, 1867

Canadian Confederation, the birth of Canada as a nation, took place on July 1, 1867. Originally just four provinces joined Confederation. These four provinces joined to form the dominon of Canada. Some key people that played vital roles in the confederation of Canada are: John A. Macdonald, George-Étienne Cartier, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Charles Tupper and George Brown.

Railway

Dec 31, 1867

Railways, providing access to far more resources and expanded markets, permitted year-round transportation. The two most significant railway companies to emerge were the Intercolonial Railway, linking Montreal with the Maritimes, and the Grand Trunk Railway, extending from Sarnia through Montreal to Portland, Maine. Railway construction became key to Canadian politics and, from 1852-1867, over 3200 kilometres of track were laid (Conrad and Finkel 370).