Confederation
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS
LEADING TO CONFEDERATION
INTERNAL & EXTERNAL FACTORS
 Internal Factors
 External Factors

Factors occurring in BNA

Factors occurring outside
of BNA

1. Repeal of the Corn Laws
2. Political Deadlock
3. The Railway

1. Manifest Destiny
2. The Fenian Raids
3. End of Reciprocity




Internal Factor #1 – Repeal of the Corn Laws
 The Corn Laws were British laws which set customs
duties on wheat and other cereal grains imported into
Britain

This ensured that Britain would get their ‘corn’ from British colonies
 British colonies (Upper & Lower Canada) were being
charged far less import duty than grain growers who
were not a part of the British Empire
 In 1846, Britain repealed (cancelled) the Corn Laws and
moved towards free trade

This caused Canadian farmers to lose their trading terms and price
advantage over American producers and the American producers
took a larger share of the British market
Internal Factor #2 – Political Deadlock
Canada West
Canada East
Liberal-Conservative Party (Tories)
Le Parti Bleu (Conservatives)
John A. Macdonald
George-Etienne Cartier
VS
VS
Clear Grits (Reform Party)
Le Parti Rouge (Reform Party)
George Brown
Antoine-Aime Dorion
Internal Factor #2 – Political Deadlock
 Political Deadlock is a situation where progress
cannot be made because the parties involved do not
agree


Canada East (French) vs. Canada West (English)
The 2 issues that created this deadlock were:
Transportation
 Representation

Internal Factor #2 – Political Deadlock
 Transportation


Canada West wanted to
expand transportation
facilities to increase trade and
wealth; they were willing to
spend government money to
do so.
Canada East did not want to
change their existing way of
life; they felt that better links
with Canada West would
threaten their identity and
they resisted attempts to
spend tax money on
transportation improvements.
 Representation


Canada West supported
Representation by Population
Canada East wanted to retain
equal representation




Disagreements about these two
issues led to a coalition
between MacDonald, Cartier,
and Brown
Coalition is - a temporary
joining together of two or
more political parties
The determination of the
Canadian leaders to change the
government was the spark that
put Confederation into motion.
Representation by Population
was agreed upon
Internal Factor #3 – The Railway

Canada West, Canada East, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had their own railway but
they were not all connected.

The railway was needed to increase trade and move troops more quickly in case of war.

The railway would increase communication (quicker movement of mail) and increase
business.

An INTERCOLONIAL railway would overcome problems: mountains and freezing of St.
Lawrence.

Due to financial trouble the building came to a halt and politicians dreamed to connect
Canada from sea to sea.

Confederation was needed to build this railway.
Internal Factor #3 – The Railway
 Did You Know?
 http://www2.canadiana.ca/citm/themes/pioneers/p
ioneers9_e.html#chinese
External Factor #1 – Manifest Destiny
 In the USA, there was a philosophy that stated that the US
had a future to expand its borders and eventually take over
what is now called Canada.
 The plan was to annex Canada after the American Civil War.
 William Seward, the American Secretary of State during the
American Civil War, was an annexationist who felt that BNA
should become a part of the US.
 The fear of annexation played a definite role in the
achievement of Canadian Confederation and in the shaping of
its Constitution.
 The Fathers of Confederation decided that Canada should have
a stronger federal government than the one south of the border
(US).
External Factor #2 – The Fenian Raids
 The Fenians were members of a secret society, the
Fenian Brotherhood, which was formed by IrishAmericans around 1858.
 Their aim was to end English rule in Ireland and free
Canada from Britain.
 About 10,000 Fenians fought in the American Civil
War and when the war ended they were eager to
invade the British colonies of BNA.
 There were many instances when the Fenians tried
to invade the British colonies in BNA.
External Factor #2 – The Fenian Raids
 Examples of Fenian Raids:
 1. April 1866 – New Brunswick
 2. June 1-2, 1866 – Canada West
 3. June 7, 1866 – Canada East
 These raids caused widespread alarm throughout
BNA, even though the Fenians were forced to retreat
by BNA militiamen.
 These raids played a part in convincing the people of
BNA of the need for Confederation.
External Factor #2 – The Fenian Raids
 "We are the Fenian Brotherhood, skilled in the arts of war, And we're
going to fight for Ireland, the land we adore, Many battles we have
won, along with the boys in blue, And we'll go and capture Canada, for
we've nothing else to do.”
-Fenian soldier's song
Your opinion:
 How do you think the residents of BNA felt when they heard the words
to this song?
External Factor #3 – End of Reciprocity
 The Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 allowed for a large
degree of free trade between the US and BNA.
 Many goods, especially agricultural products could
be imported free of customs duties.
 American fishermen were allowed to fish in the
Atlantic coastal waters of BNA and colonial
fishermen were allowed the same rights further
south.
 This treaty increased trade between BNA and the US
and was very profitable for the Maritime colonies.
External Factor #3 – End of Reciprocity
 In 1866, the US government cancelled this treaty at
the same time it passed the Annexation Bill.
 This resulted in sudden loss of favourable trading
terms for the BNA colonies with the US.
 Therefore, it was decided that among the BNA
colonies, there would be free trade.
 This in turn, pushed the colonies closer together;
increasing the need for Confederation.