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Manifest Destiny
Many Americans believed it was the "manifest destiny" of the U.S. to take over and occupy all of North America. Many loyalists lived in Canada and had no interest in becoming part of the U.S. Since Britain had begun to loosen its hold on Canada, the Canadians realized that they would need to defend themselves if the Americans ever decided to attack. The fear of a takeover by the U.S. helped lead to confederation. -
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Political Deadlock
The French and English were pitted against each other politically with no clear majority meaning that it was nearly impossible for decision making to happen. Both sides realized something needed to change if Canada was going to become its own nation. -
Repeal Of The Corn Laws
The corn laws existed between Britain and many of its colonies and they effectively eliminated tariffs on grains. These laws gave the colonies an advantage when they traded with Britain. When Britain repealed the laws Canada went into an economic recession. After this event, Canadians began to realize that they needed to stop relying on Britain for their economic success. -
Railway
A railroad would stimulate Canada's economy by making travel possible across its vast domain and it would also make it much easier to protect Canada from possible invasions. Although railroads didn't directly cause confederation, they did make a union between the colonies possible. I couldn't find an exact date for a railway related event, but the subject came up often in talks about the benefits of confederation. -
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U.S. Civil War
The U.S. civil war was fought between the Confederate states in the South and the Union states in the North. Britain was officially neutral, but they needed cotton from the South making the Union feel like Britain was supporting the Confederates. Tensions between Britain and the U.S. led to tensions between Canada and the U.S., and Canadians were reminded that they could not trust the British to protect them from an invasion by the Americans. -
Great Coalition Formed
The coalition between Sir John A. Macdonald and George Brown was formed, helping to end the political deadlock between the French and the English. -
Charlottetown Conference
Canada East and Canada West sent a delegation to Charlottetown to attempt to form a broader union. After the conference the Maritimes agreed to consider joining a union with Canada. -
The Quebec Conference
Issues relating to the confederation were discussed in Quebec city, and a blueprint of what confederation would look like was agreed upon. -
The St. Alban's Incident
A group of Confederates robbed some banks in St. Alban's and escaped across the border to Canada. They were arrested, but later released infuriating the U.S government. This event incited threats from the U.S. Canadians were forced to realize that they were poorly prepared should the U.S. attack. -
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The Fenian Raids
A group of Irish people living in the U.S. formed a militia dedicated to making the British government give up its claims on Ireland. Since they couldn't directly attack Britain, the Fenian Brotherhood attacked Canada instead. Although these attacks didn't cause any serious damage, they brought attention to the fact that Canada needed its own public defense and changed public opinion to be more in favor with the idea of confederation. -
The End Of Reciprocity
A reciprocity treaty was formed between Canada and the U.S. in 1854. This treaty reduced tariffs and duties on goods that were traded with the U.S. After the Civil War, the U.S. decided not to renew the agreement in the hopes that Canada might join the U.S. to preserve their trading relationship. Instead of Canadians wanting to join the U.S., the tactics of the Americans only encouraged anti-Americanism in Canada, and drew the colonies closer together. -
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The London Conferences
The last confederation conference was held in London to work out the last few kinks in the Quebec Resolutions and meet with the British government. Here they formed the British North America Act, and decide on the name "Canada" for the new country. -
Canada Becomes A Country!