History

The BNA act was passed on March 29th, 1867 but took in effect on Jun 1st, 1867. It created the Dominion of Canada and founded the Canadian Constitution. In 1982, it was renamed to The Constitutional Act, 1897 and added the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms giving fundamental freedoms and civil rights to Canadians.

Confederation

The BNA act came into effect on July 1st, 1867 and it provided the union/ confederation of three of five BNA colonies into a federal state called the Dominion of Canada. Those colonies were Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada which was later divided into Ontario and Quebec.

Later, six more colonies were added as provinces: Manitoba in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1873, Alberta in 1905, Saskatchewan in 1905, and Newfoundland in 1949. Later, two more territories were also added: Yukon in 1989 and Nunavut in 1999. In 1870, Canada acquired Rupert's Land from the British Hudson's Bay Company making Canada's first territory as the Northwest Territories.

Not all of the Canadian Constitution was written in the BNA act or The Constitution Act of 1867. Later, more statues and acts were written to complete the constitution like the Canada Elections Act. One power in a statue vested the Crown to dissolve the British parliament and call the general election usually on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. That power is vested in the queen or king of Britian and The Governor General of Canada.

Conferences

There were multiple conferences lead up to the unionization and confederation of Canada. Those conferences were Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in September 1864, Quebec City, Province of Canada in October 1864, and London, England in 1866-67.

Charlottetown Conference

In 1864, The premiers of the British colonies of New Brunswick (premier Samuel Leonard), Nova Scotia (premier Charles Tupper), and Prince Edward Island (premier John Hamilton Gray) met it Charlottetown to discuss confederation and unionization. However, this wasn't talks for confederation of BNA which ended up happening. They wanted to make a Maritime Union to make a federal states out of the Atlantic Colonies in North America. Surprisingly, the premier of the Province of Canada requested to be invited and involved in this conference. This was surprising because the Province of Canada wasn't a Maritime or Atlantic colony and the conference was to discuss the union of Maritime colonies.

To understand why the premier of the Province of Canada requested this, we need to jump back the the Quebec Act of 1774. This act gave French speakers right of language and religion. It also made the the Province of Quebec. Later, the Province of Quebec split into the Lower Canada and Upper Canada colonies. Then, In the Act of Union of 1840, Lower and Upper Canada became the Province of Canada. When the Province of Canada was formed. there was a political divide with French Speaker and English Speaker. There was a cultural difference even in the provinces legislation and parliament. The premier of the province thought that unionizing and confederation would fix this problem.

No footage of the conference survived however.

Quebec City Conference

On October 10-27, 1864, representatives from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and The Province of Canada met in Quebec City to talk and discuss the confederation and unification of British North America. These discussions started at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island the previous month before the Quebec City Conference. The main topic and debate was in the scenario of confederation into one country, what would the structure of parliament be laid out and the distribution of power between federal, provincial and local governments along with the Supreme Court of Canada.

**Canada East and Canada West were geographical landmarks in the Province of Canada. It usually marks the old Lower and Upper Canada. In this section, we will be referring to Canada East and West so just keep in mind that this is all part of the Province of Canada**

Many of the delegates from the Charlottetown Conference the previous month also participated in the Quebec City Conference. These delegates and Representatives were know as the Father's of Confederation . The Delegates from Canada East included George-Étienne Cartier, Thomas D'Arcy McGee and Étienne-Paschal Taché. Étienne-Paschal Taché was the prime minister of the Province of Canada and chaired the conference. George Brown and John A. Macdonald represented Canada West. John Hamilton Gray and Samuel Leonard Tilley were there from New Brunswick. Adams George Archibald and Charles Tupper came from Nova Scotia. George Coles and William Henry Pope represented Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland sent two men as observers — Frederic Carter and Ambrose Shea.

London Conferences

In the months following the Quebec City Conferences, the Province of Canada legislature passed a bill approving the union and confederation of BNA. The bills had a harder time of passing in the Maritime and Atlantic colonies. In 1866, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia legislatures passed the union bill, while Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland contributed to opt against joining.

In December 1866, sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia traveled to London where they attended private audiences with Queen Victoria to discuss terms they discussed in the Quebec City and Charlottetown Conferences. After breaking for Christmas, the delegates reconvened and began drafting the British North America Act.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Canadian Confederation. (2004, February 9). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Confederation

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Tattrie, Jon . "Prince Edward Island and Confederation". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 10 March 2015, Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/prince-edward-island-and-confederation. Accessed 01 April 2021.