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The Great Migration
(Not exact dates)
The Great Migration was the general time period that citizens from all over Europe migrated/moved to BNA in hopes of starting a better life. A variety of cultures moved to BNA, whether the citizen was an Irish man escaping the potato famine, or a slave moving across the ocean to save their life, many people were eager to move to the colonies. The Great Migration was not the only time people moved to BNA, but it was the most significant time period. -
The Corn Laws are Established
(December 31st not exact date)
The Corn Laws were British Laws governing the import and export of all grain producs into Britian. This gave BNA preferential tariffs, in other words less tax was collected from the colonies. BNA's trading with Britian was relied on during the time of The Corn Laws. -
Slavery Becomes Illegal in BNA
Slavery has been illegal in BNA/Canada since August 28, 1833. During the timespan before slavery became illegal in USA, over 30 000 american slaves escaped their country and settled in BNA. Harriet Tubman was a large factor in saving the lives of thousands of slaves during her lifetime, she helped about 70 slaves cross the border using the Underground Railroad and inspired many others to follow in her path. -
Act of Union Creates United Province of Canada
February 10, 1841, the date that Canada East and Canada West oficially became one united colony under one Representative Government. At that point, Canada East and Canada West were only seperated by an equal number of government representitives, but often this lead to a political deadlock in their government. Though they were the United Province of Canada from then on, they were still reffered to as Canada East and Canada West. -
Repeal of the Corn Laws
Britian decides to repeal the laws that previously gave BNA preferential tariffs. At this point BNA's trading profit lowers drastically, and BNA is put into a struggle to maintain their financial state. -
Idustry Flourishes in Montreal
(Not exact date; late 1840's)
After the dscovery of Steam Power, steam powered factories began to pop up all over BNA, beginning with Montreal. Soon factories were being built not only in Montreal, but all over Canada East. Not too long after that, Canada West began building steam powered factories aswell. Industry was flourishing all over BNA, but Montreal remained the most industrialized city for the next 100 years. -
Province of Canada gets Responsible Government
(Jan 1st not exact date)
Initially the United Province of Canada had a Representative Government, as most colonies had at the time. This meant that despite the representatives in the Legislative Assembly selected by the people, the Governer and Council did not actually have to follow through with the Legistative Assembly's decisions. In 1849, the United Province of Canada was granted a Responsible Government; so the representatives chosen passed laws, not the governer and his selected council. -
Population Census is Conducted
(January 1st not exact date)
In 1851, a population census was conducted that determined Canada West had the largest population. The exact data collected can be found in the picture to the left. -
Grand Trunk Railway Construction
(Jan 1st not exact date)
In 1853, construction of the railway between Montreal and Toronto more commonly known as the Grand Trunk Railway began. The government funded the construction of this railway, and as time went on the train system did not do well financially. As one railway system, the traffic was very low. Not until later, when a more intricut railway was built, did the Grand Trunk Railway begin profiting its country. -
Reciprocity Treaty with USA is Established
The reciprocity treaty, allowing free trade between BNA and the United States, was established on June 6, 1854. At that point the majority of BNA's trading was with the US, and their trade was relied on. -
Intercolonial Railway Begins Construction
(January 1st not exact date)
In 1858, the Intercolonial's first railway connecting Halifax to Turo began construction. The railway was left incompleted for a long period following, as the bank BNA recieved their loans from felt the colonies could not pay off any further loans unless unified. This left both the Intercolonial railway and the Grand Trunk railway in financial troubles until debts could be paid off. -
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American Civil War
American Civil WarThe American civil war was, in a nutshell, the north (The Union) vs. the south (The Confederacy). Northern USA wanted to end slavery in America, whereas the southern states agreed with slavery. Many events lead up to this war, such as Manifest destiny (the belief that all of North America should be USA), and when the war ended The Union came out on top. From this point on slavery has been illegal in USA, but the feelings towards racism are still substantially different in the north versus south. -
The Great Coalition
A Coalition is when two or more political parties join together to pass laws of common interest. In 1864, the Liberal-Conservative party, the Reform party, and the le Parti Bleu decided to work together. From then on this has been called The Great Coalition. All three parties wanted Confederation, and while they may have dissagreed in other political areas, Confederation could benefit each group and they felt that working together to acomplish this was more important than their differences. -
Charlottetown Conference
Charlottetown Conference (Sep 1-9) The Charlottetown Conference is where Novia Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I, and The Canadas met and discussed the possibility of uniting. (Note that British Columbia and Newfoundland were absent) After 9 days of plans being discussed, The Canadas persuaded the Maritimes to meet again in Quebec on another date and discuss further plans. Another conference was scheduled. -
Quebec Conference
The Quebec Conference is where The Canadas, Novia Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I, and Newfoundland met in Quebec to finalize the plans for uniting the colonies of BNA (Not that British Columbia was absent). Here the 72 resolutions were drawn up by the fathers of confederation, and P.E.I. backed out of their previous mutual agreement. The 4 colonies left decided to schedule a conference with Britian to officially begin confederation and become a country. -
Reciprocity Treaty is Abolished
(The 1st not exact date)
In March, 1866, USA backed out of their previous reciprocity treaty with BNA. They felt as if the agreement was more beneficial to BNA than it was to them. America being one of BNA's largest trading partners, BNA went into a slump in the trading industry once again. BNA was forced to look internally for their trade profit, and started to seriously consider Confederation. -
Fenian Raids Begin
The Fenians were 'an Irish nationalist organization that ancouraged revolutionary activity to over throw British rule in Ireland'. Many people knew them as terrrorists, but they knew themselves as freedom fighters. Instead of attacking Britian directly, the Fenians decided to attack BNA. The first raid was on April 17, 1866, and many unsuccessful attacks followed this event. There were lives were lost in Fenian Raids, however, but their main goal was always to free the colonies from Britian. -
London Conference
The London Conference was held in London England in 1866 where Canada West, Canada East, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick discussed the future confederation of their colonies with British officials. The 72 resolutions were discussed, and the country of Canada was born as a self-governing dominion. The official provinces of Canada at that point were Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Since then the country had grown, but those were the original 4 provinces of Canada. -
Confederation!
The British North America Act was the official act of Confederation, this included the feautures of Canada's new government which consisted of a federal system, bilingual feautures, a balance of representation, and a balance of representitives. This took place on July 1, 1867 which can now be recognized as Canada's birthday or Canada Day. This event is celebrated every year all around Canada, often with fireworks and parties. Happy birthday Canada! -
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John A MacDonald is Prime Minister
John A MacDonald's first term as Prime Minister was from July 1,1867 to November 5, 1873. John was a father of Confederation and he is the reason Manitoba, British Columbia and P.E.I. joined Canada. During his first term he was also a key factor in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Northwest Mounted Police. During his first term as Prime Minister he served as Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General. -
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John A MacDonald is Prime Minister Again
John.A.MacDonaldJohn A MacDonald began his 2nd term as Prime Minister on October 17th 1878. His time as Prime Minister was cut short on June 6, 1891, the date of his death. He lived a life of 76 years from January 11, 1815 to June 6, 1891.
