British North America

British North America comprised Britain’s colonies and territories in northern North America before Canadian Confederation in 1867. Its boundaries and political organization changed over time.

New France: New France was France’s colonial empire in North America, centered on the St. Lawrence Valley and present-day Canada. Its conquest by Britain transferred much of eastern North America into British rule.
Province of Canada: The Province of Canada was a British colony formed in 1841 by uniting Upper Canada and Lower Canada. It was the central political union in British North America during the decades before Confederation.
John A. Macdonald: John A. Macdonald was a lawyer and politician who became Canada’s first prime minister in 1867. As a Province of Canada leader, he helped negotiate the union that ended British North America’s colonial era.
Rebellions of 1837–1838: The Rebellions of 1837–1838 were armed uprisings against colonial governments in Upper and Lower Canada. They prompted investigations and reforms that transformed the region’s constitutional arrangements.
Treaty of Paris (1763): The 1763 treaty ending the Seven Years’ War transferred most French possessions in mainland North America to Britain. It established British control over former New France and reshaped the colonial map.
Nova Scotia: Nova Scotia is a Maritime region that was a British colony and became a Canadian province in 1867. It joined Confederation at its founding after centuries as a separate British colony.
George-Étienne Cartier: George-Étienne Cartier was a French Canadian politician and a leading architect of Canadian Confederation. He secured French Canadian support for a federal union within the British imperial framework.
Durham Report: The Durham Report was John George Lambton’s 1839 inquiry into the causes and aftermath of rebellion in the Canadas. Its recommendations led to the union of Upper and Lower Canada and shaped debates over assimilation.
Quebec Act: The 1774 British law expanded Quebec’s boundaries and protected Catholic worship and French civil law. It defined the governance and legal distinctiveness of Britain’s largest northern colony.
New Brunswick: New Brunswick is a Maritime province that became a separate British colony in 1784 and joined Canada in 1867. Its colonial government and participation in Confederation made it a core part of British North America.

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