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Confederation History
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Parlimentary Democracy
The newly formed government attempted to preserve the link with Britian in its government. It copied Britian's system of parlimentary demcracy. -
Date of Confederation
The British North America Act passed the through British parliment with no significant debate. Queen Victoria signed the bill on March 29, 1867, and it was agreed that it would become effective the first day of July. -
Bicameral
Parliment would consist of two houses (bicameral), the House of Commons (elected on basis of representation of population) and the Senate (appointed by the Prime Minister). -
Government
The power was distributed between the federal and provincial governments. The federal government was in charge of criminal law, defence, trade, and foreign affairs, while the proincial government was in charge of "less importat" things like education, civil law, and health. -
Manitoba Joins Confederation
Manitoba was bought from the Hudson Bay Company without the consent of the Metis that lived in the area. It was the fifth province to join Confederation. -
Northwest Territories Join Confederation
The Northwest Territories (originally Rupert's Land) was bought from the Hudson Bay Company at the same time as Manitoba. It could not be a province because its population was too small. -
British Columbia Joins Confederation
British Columbia joined confederation because the central government promised them to have a transcontinental railway started within the next two years and finished within the next ten. This was very attractive to British Columbia because they wanted to be able to ship with in the country, not using American systems and paying high tariffs. -
Prince Edward Island Joins Confederation
Prince Edward Island joined Confederation because Canada helped them pay off their defict, incurred when PEI built their own railway. It is the smallest province. -
The Yukon Joins Confederation
Canada bought the Yukon from the Hudson Bay company so that the USA couldn't gain more property up there and claim that they needed to join their country together through Canada. -
Saskatchewan and Alberta Join Confederation
Saskatchewan and Alberta joined Confederation on the promise of a cross-country raillroad. They were mostly farmers and wanted to be able to ship their produce in a less costly manner. -
Nunavut Joins Confederation
The territories were very large, and the governing of them was very difficult to manage, so the federal government split them up into three territories instead of two, creating Nunavut.
