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Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation (French: Confédération canadienne) was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation called the Dominion of Canada, on July 1, 1867.[1][2] Upon Confederation, Canada consisted of four provinces: Ontario and Quebec, which had been split out from the Province of Canada, and the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.[3] Over the years since Confederation, Canada has seen numerous territorial changes and expansions, resulting in the current number of ten provinces and three territories.

Terminology[edit]

Confederation[edit]

Canada is a federation,[4] rather than a confederate association of sovereign states, which is what confederation means in contemporary political theory. The country, though, is often considered to be among the world's more decentralized federations.[5] Use of the term confederation arose in the Province of Canada to refer to proposals beginning in the 1850s to federate all of the British North American colonies, as opposed to only Canada West (now Ontario) and Canada East (now Quebec). To contemporaries of Confederation, the con- prefix indicated a strengthening of the centrist principle compared to the American federation.[6]


In this Canadian context, confederation describes the political process that united the colonies in 1867, events related to that process, and the subsequent incorporation of other colonies and territories.[7] The word is now often used to describe Canada in an abstract way, such as in "the Fathers of Confederation"; provinces that became part of Canada after 1867 are also said to have joined, or entered into, Confederation (but not the Confederation).[8] The term is also used to divide Canadian history into pre-Confederation and post-Confederation periods.[9]

Legacy[edit]

The term confederation has entered into Canadian parlance both as a metaphor for the country and for the historical events that created it. It has therefore become one of the most common names for Canadian landmarks. Examples include Mount Confederation, Confederation Square, the Confederation Building, Confederation Park, Confederation Station, Confederation Heights, Confederation Bridge, and so on. This is similar to the American practices of naming things union and likewise the Australians with federation.


Indigenous communities were ignored in the process of Canadian confederation.[108] As a result of Confederation, the Parliament and government of Canada assumed the responsibilities of their British counterparts in treaty dealings with the First Nations. The federal Parliament subsequently passed the Indian Act in 1876, which, in amended form, continues to govern Indigenous peoples. Confederation created conditions of colonialism, including resource grabbing, broken treaties, forced assimilation, patriarchy, and intergenerational trauma inflicted by the hegemony of the Canadian state on Indigenous nations that had been self-governing.[113]


As the 20th century progressed, attention to the conditions of Indigenous peoples in Canada increased, which included the granting of full voting rights in 1960. Treaty rights were enshrined in the Canadian constitution in 1982 and,[114][115] in Sparrow v. The Queen,[116] the Supreme Court determined there exists a fiduciary affiliation between the Canadian Crown and Indigenous peoples in which the Crown is constitutionally charged with providing certain guarantees to the First Nations.[120] Recognizing the principle of aboriginal title, a process of land claims settlements is ongoing. Created to resolve the effects of the residential school system, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was struck to identify further measures to improve conditions.[121]

150th anniversary of Canada

History of Canada

Territorial evolution of Canada

List of documents from the constitutional history of Canada

Library and Archives Canada.gov: Canadian Confederation collection

Canadiana: "On the Road to Confederation"

McCord Museum: "Confederation: The Creation of Canada"

Dictionary of Canadian Biography, "The Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences of 1864"