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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
A New Nation | Nova Scotia Balks | The Northwest Territories | Manitoba & Riel | Federal Provincial Relations | British Columbia | Prince Edward Island | The Washington Treaty | Scandal | Liberal Interlude | The National Policy | The Railroad | Rebellion | Immigration | Transitions
The main issue that prevented prince Edward Island from entering Confederation a one of the founding Provinces in 1867 was that of absentee landowners. When PEI was taken form the French, Britain did not have an organized plan for the Island until 1766 when Captain Samuel Holland decided that the land would be divided into 67 lots which were transferred to wealthy landowners in England who in turn rented the land out at a high rate and refused to sell to the colonists. Very few of these landowners ever even visited Prince Edward Island.
The colonies delegates at Charlottetown were not in favour of Confederation unless their issues could be addressed and after the Quebec Conference they turned against joining the other colonies in Confederation because the landlord issue was not addressed or resolved. They were also anxious about how much of their identity could be maintained, as a very small colony, if they joined the much larger, populous colonies. They decided to go it on their own and build a railway on the Island to service the people.
By 1873 conditions in Prince Edward Island were becoming desperate. The railway had proven to be a financial disaster, the landowner issue had not progressed and communication with the mainland was sporadic. The time seemed opportune for the re-opening of negotiations with Canada about entry into Confederation. The British authorities had started to apply pressure to PEI to join Canada in order to solidify the new Empire country as a counterbalance to the US and the Canadian government had proposed new terms which would largely alleviate the major problems that PEI faced.
The United States had also been making overtures to PEI to join the republic and had dispatch informal delegates to promote the option. In 1973 Canada offered to absorb PEI's debt into the Canadian debt, provide funding to buy out the absentee landowners, and to provide a reliable from of transportation to the mainland. PEI accepted these terms and on July 1st 1873 they joined Canada and became the 7th Province in Confederation.
