Prelude to Confederation:
The Making of Canada
The Shaping of Canada
 Today Canada is the
second-largest country in
the world.
 It is made up of 10
provinces and 3 territories.
 Although Canada was
officially created in 1867,
the story of the land that
eventually became Canada
is much older.
 During the 1500s many
European countries sent
explorers to ‘discover’
new lands.
 They claimed any new
discoveries as their own.
 North America was rich
is resources and
Europeans began to
establish settlements or
colonies.
 France and Britain had the
most influence in shaping
North America.
 They interacted with the
Aboriginals who had been
here for thousands of
years.
 Sometimes relations
between these groups
were friendly but at other
times they were not.
 France and Britain had
problems with each
other and fought all the
time.
 In 1763 France had to
give up its land in
North America to
Britain.
 Britain thus controlled
most of North
America.
 Most of the British colonies
were in what is now the
United States.
 These colonies were upset at
the way they were being
treated by Britain-they began
a war of independence.
 The colonies won the war
and Britain lost a lot of landthe remaining land was called
British North America.
 This would become Canada
almost 100 years later.
Why Confederation?
By the 1860s the idea of uniting the British
colonies became popular....why?
Problems, problems, problems...
Political, Economic, and Military.
Political Problems
Province of Canada (union of Upper and Lower
Canada) was divided.
English-speaking and French-speaking people had
different ideas about how things should be run.
Some people believed that joining the other
colonies might solve problems.
Economic Problems
In the latter half of the 19th century, the colonies’
economies were based on things like the fur trade, farming,
mining, logging, shipbuilding...
To make money colonies had to be able to sell their
goods to other markets.
However, there were few markets available.
Some people believed that a big market could be created
by joining the colonies together.
Military Problems
 The relationship between British North America and the US
had been tense since the War of Independence.
 The situation grew even worse when Britain supported the
South in the American Civil War...The North won and was
angry at Britain.
 Meanwhile, Britain was getting fed-up with the high cost of
defending its colonies.
 Britain supported the idea of the colonies joining together-this
would discourage the US from attacking.
CONFEDERATION
Finally, after a series of important
conferences, Canada came into existence
on July 1, 1867.
It was composed of four provinces: New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and
Quebec-it would take another 100 years to
add the other 6 provinces and 3 territories
that make up Canada today.