LESSON 8: THE QUEBEC CONFERENCE
DATE: October 1864
LOCATION: Quebec City
KEY PLAYERS: reps from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Canada East, Canada West, and Newfoundland. John A. MacDonald acted as leader and was the major player.
LEFT OUT: British Columbia was not invited because, again, it was too far away. Aboriginals and Marginalized peoples were not asked to attend.
REASON FOR CONFERENCE: The Maritimes and the Canadas had met last month and had agreed upon a Union! Now for the hard part: deciding how to make it, and how to run it. Sir John A. MacDonald had come prepared with a list of 72 Resolutions for the new country, 51 of which he had written himself. He had been scared by what he saw happen in the also recently-united country of the United States, and did not want a Civil War to happen in Canada. He favoured a highly-centralized government, which a lot of national (or federal) power. This was different from the U.S., where the individual states held a lot of power and made most of their own decisions.
KEY DECISIONS:
1) Sir John A. MacDonald's 72 Resolutions
2) Reactions in the Atlantic Colonies
The Maritimes were largely opposed to the 72 Resolutions. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia reluctantly agreed to Confederation, as Great Britain declared their support for the union, the U.S. announced that they would no longer be engaged in free trade with Canada, and the Fenian attacks reawakened old fears. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland rejected Confederation. Prince Edward Island didn't like the idea of representation by population, because with their small colony they would only be allowed to send five representatives to the House of Commons. Newfoundland was just flat-out not interested.
LOCATION: Quebec City
KEY PLAYERS: reps from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Canada East, Canada West, and Newfoundland. John A. MacDonald acted as leader and was the major player.
LEFT OUT: British Columbia was not invited because, again, it was too far away. Aboriginals and Marginalized peoples were not asked to attend.
REASON FOR CONFERENCE: The Maritimes and the Canadas had met last month and had agreed upon a Union! Now for the hard part: deciding how to make it, and how to run it. Sir John A. MacDonald had come prepared with a list of 72 Resolutions for the new country, 51 of which he had written himself. He had been scared by what he saw happen in the also recently-united country of the United States, and did not want a Civil War to happen in Canada. He favoured a highly-centralized government, which a lot of national (or federal) power. This was different from the U.S., where the individual states held a lot of power and made most of their own decisions.
KEY DECISIONS:
1) Sir John A. MacDonald's 72 Resolutions
- The new country of Canada would have two basic bodies of government: a Senate and a House of Commons. The House of Commons would have elected officials, who would be voted in by the public (representation by population). The Senate would have appointed officials - two from each province - who were chosen by the Governor General (equal representation)
- The federal government would handle common affairs, economic development, Aboriginal affairs, and defence
- The provincial governments would handle local affairs and social issues
- The Canadas would become two provinces called Ontario and Quebec
2) Reactions in the Atlantic Colonies
The Maritimes were largely opposed to the 72 Resolutions. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia reluctantly agreed to Confederation, as Great Britain declared their support for the union, the U.S. announced that they would no longer be engaged in free trade with Canada, and the Fenian attacks reawakened old fears. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland rejected Confederation. Prince Edward Island didn't like the idea of representation by population, because with their small colony they would only be allowed to send five representatives to the House of Commons. Newfoundland was just flat-out not interested.
Action Items:
- Read your handout on the Quebec Resolution, paying close attention to the reactions by different leaders and colonies
- Complete your graphic organizer on the Quebec Resolution as a group
- Complete the activity below individually:
- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jD_dRK92BGxCgCd4ASSRsqL39f4hLMci4iWbNQi05LU/viewform