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1812 - The War of 1812
After the War of 1812 the Americans started giving Canadians the idea that they didn't need Britain's protection as much anymore, it brought Canadians closer together and planted the the thought of Canadian independence and identity. It was not a sudden movement, but it started the gradual process of becoming an independent nation. -
1841 - Act of Union
The Act of Union was meant to help the French and English populations work better together. However, members would vote against each other's bills and nothing was getting passed. Rep by pop. was introduced, but since the English population outweighed the French, they were against it. This caused internal controversy and a need for system that worked for both the English and the French. -
1846 - The Repeal of the Corn Laws
The Corn Laws allowed farmers to trade amongst the colonies and with Britain without added taxes. When they were repealed, the farmers could not compete with other countries low prices of grains. Britain traded less and less with Canadian farmers, which put Canada into recession. Canadian farmers had to adapt, so they created a trading relationship with the United States. -
1861 -1865 - U.S. Civil War
During the Civil War the U.S. threatened to invade Canada to get back at Britain. After a series of events where the U.S. and Britain had standoffs with Canada in the middle, Canada realized it needed better military protection as Britain was doing a lousy job of defending the Canadian colonies. -
1864 - The Great Coalition
Wester Canada was governed by 2 premiers, George Brown, the leader of the Clear Grits and John A. Macdonald the leader of The Liberal-Conservatives. In 1864 these 2 leaders agreed to join forces and enter the Great Coalition, and to work towards the Great Coalition. Later the French premier who lead Eastern Canada, George-Étienne Cartier also entered this agreement. -
1864 - The Quebec Conference
In October of 1864 there was a conference held in Quebec city where the delegates created the "72 Resolutions" this was the map of solutions for major issues Canada currently faced, as well as the framework for the federal system of Canada. They decided that they would not cut ties with Britain but they would be more independent. They also knew that Canada was too large for only one government, so they split into Federal and Provincial governments. -
1866 - The London Conference
The last conference held before the confederation was in London where there was some tweaks made to the 72 resolution, and Queen Victoria passed The British North America Act. This made Canada it's own dominion with it's own parliament. -
1865 - The end of NAFTA
The North America Free Trade Agreement was created after the repeal of the Corn Laws. In 1865 this agreement was up for renewal, however because of the tension between Britain and the U.S. during the war, the Americans thought that if they did not renew the agreement, Canada would have no choice but to join them. This did not only encourage anti-Americanism in Canada, but also encouraged the Canadian colonies to come together. They then started trading amongst themselves. -
1866 - The Fenian Raids
A group of Irish immigrants from the U.S. formed a militia. They too wanted to get back at Britain for taking over Ireland. However, since they couldn't get to Britain, they decided to attack Canada. They're motive was for Britain to give up Ireland and make it free again. After 2 successful attacks and another failed attempt on Canada, the public had been swayed in favor of a confederation, since Britain was not protecting them. -
1867 - The Confederation
The final conference was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. On July 1st, 1867. -
1869 - 1870 Louis Riel
Louis Riel helped negotiate the terms of how Manitoba would enter into the confederation. However, after the Canadian government left many promises unfulfilled, Riel led the new North West Resistance in 1885 which led to his execution.