{"exhibit":{"id":6,"title":"The Motivating Factors of Canada's Confederation","description":"

The British North America Act was sanctioned by Queen Victoria on March 29, 1867.<\/span> Approximately two months later, on July 1, 1867, the Act came into effect, and Canada officially became a self-governing nation by uniting the first four provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec.<\/span> From this union, Canada also welcomed its first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.<\/span> The union of these previous British colonies became known as Confederation, and laid the necessary groundwork for Canada to become the nation it is today. The Act was completed in three stages of conferences throughout different locations, including Charlottetown, Quebec City, and London, where leaders from each of the different provinces negotiated terms for the new nation.<\/span> Although Confederation initially only consisted of four provinces, it allowed Canada to become a separate nation from Britain, and would allow for more regions to join as time went on. Eventually the rest of the Canadian provinces and territories would enter Confederation, including the most recent addition of Nunavut in 1999.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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There were several motivations behind Canada\u2019s Confederation, including political and economic reasons. Many people had fears surrounding a possible invasion from the United States, particularly during the American Civil War, as the individual colonies lacked the forces necessary to defend themselves.<\/span> Economic struggles were also a significant factor, as there were challenges in managing the costs of infrastructure and an urgent need to construct railways, which were necessary for transportation and trade at the time.<\/span> Confederation was also a way for the colonies to come together and form a single government to be free of difficulties from Great Britain, allowing them to manage their own affairs and issues.<\/span> These motives are what made the colonies come together and form the country known as Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This exhibit walks viewers through the different motivations and causes behind Confederation. Through artifacts such as political documents, political cartoons, photographs, paintings, and newspaper articles, viewers will look at specific examples and learn about the ambitions that drove Canada\u2019s Confederation. Each artifact represents different influences when it came to the creation of Canada, showing the steps that led the nation to where it is today.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heidt, Daniel. <\/span>Reconsidering Confederation: Canada\u2019s Founding Debates 1864-1999<\/span><\/i>. Calgary: University Of Calgary Press, 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n


Krikorian, Jacqueline D., David R. Cameron, Marcel Martel, Andrew W. McDougall, and Robert C. Vipond. Roads to Confederation: The Making of Canada, 1867. Volume 2<\/i>. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017.<\/span><\/p>","credits":"","featured":0,"public":1,"theme":"","theme_options":null,"slug":"the-motivating-factors-of-conf","added":"2024-11-27 07:03:05","modified":"2024-12-07 23:41:17","owner_id":67,"use_summary_page":1,"cover_image_file_id":null},"item":{"id":87,"item_type_id":null,"collection_id":null,"featured":0,"public":1,"added":"2024-12-03 06:29:33","modified":"2024-12-03 06:29:33","owner_id":67}}