Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation was the political process that united British North American colonies into the Dominion of Canada, beginning on July 1, 1867.

Charlottetown Conference: A 1864 meeting in Charlottetown where delegates discussed uniting the Maritime colonies and broader British North America. Its discussions expanded a proposed Maritime union into negotiations for a larger federation.
British North America Act, 1867: The British statute that created the Dominion of Canada and established its initial constitutional framework. It gave legal effect to the union and defined the new government's institutions and powers.
John A. Macdonald: A Canadian lawyer and politician who became the first prime minister of Canada in 1867. He led the coalition promoting federation and shaped the new Dominion's central government.
Dominion of Canada: The federal polity established in 1867 by the union of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. This was the political entity created by Confederation.
Maritime Union: A proposed union of the Maritime colonies that was discussed before the 1864 conferences broadened the negotiations. The original regional proposal differed from the wider federation that emerged.
Quebec Conference: An 1864 conference whose delegates drafted the 72 Resolutions outlining a proposed Canadian federation. The resolutions supplied the main constitutional framework negotiated before Confederation.
Federalism in Canada: A system of government that constitutionally divides authority between Canada's federal and provincial governments. Confederation established the federal division of powers that structures Canadian government.
George-Étienne Cartier: A French Canadian politician who helped lead the Province of Canada's movement for Confederation. He secured substantial French Canadian support for union and negotiated protections for provincial institutions.
Manitoba Act: The 1870 statute that created Manitoba and provided for its entry into Canada. It followed Confederation's initial union as the Dominion expanded westward amid Métis resistance.
Annexationism in British North America: Political advocacy for joining British North American colonies to the United States. Annexation offered a competing future to union under the British Crown.

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