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Prehistory | 2 Worlds Meet | New France | England Arrives | Clash of Empires | Revolution | British America | Reform/Revolt | Responsible Government | Confederation | Nation Building | Laurier | The Great War | Roaring 20's | Great Depression | WWII | The Peace | Cold War | Trudeau | PC's in Power | Modern Canada
Fathers of Confederation | Maritime Union | George Brown | Pan Federalism | US Civil War | Canada's Proposals | St Lawrence Cruise | Charlottetown | The Quebec Conference | The London Conference | July 1st 1867
In the spring of 1865 the Canadian delegation departed for Britain to obtain approval for the plan of Canadian Confederation. The battle to get final approval from the legislature of the Union of the Canada's was a hard fought one. Many French Canadian politicians felt that they were being swallowed up in a sea of English power and population and that it might be a plan to eliminate the French culture. The argument against that was that the only true protection for the French Canadian culture was in placing various rights and powers into provincial hands where they could be protected and nurtured so that the culture of the region or province would survive.
In December of 1866 the London Conference began and under the stewardship of John A. Macdonald, the various points of contention that were still outstanding were resolved and a compromise found. The two Canada's, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick became the first members of the new union and the name Canada was officially chosen.
The British government which had many concerns about the situation in North America viewed this process as a stepping stone to solidifying British North America in the form of Canada. The other accelerant that helped push the process along in the mix of British politics was the ending of the American Civil War. The U.S. had the largest and probably strongest standing army in the world at that point and shaky relationships during the war had produced nervous anticipation concerning the safety of the British Colonies in North America. Many felt that the U.S. would be much less likely to threaten an independent country then British Colonies.
The London Conference settled the issues and the British North American Act was ushered through the British Parliament in March of 1867 by Lord Darby with only a few changes including one which changed the name of the new country from the Kingdom of Canada to the Dominion of Canada.
