Known as the Fathers of Confederation , these leaders met and wrote a constitution for the new country, which had to be passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The BNA Act described the structure and main laws of the new country, as well as the division of powers between the new provinces and the federal government.
We have had a type of democracy in Canada since the mids! Did you know that the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy is the oldest democracy in North America? Canada was much smaller in Where do you live?
Was it part of Canada in ? After years of political debate , there were three historic meetings in Quebec City, Charlottetown and London, England to decide the future creation of Canada. McKenney's site would eventually become the business and banking centre of the city at the intersection of Portage and Main. In , however, the celebrations out east created a general sense of uncertainty in the Prairies, both for those new to the region and those whose ancestors had lived there for generations.
Jackson wrote that the HBC, which had domain over Rupert's Land since , could also sense that uncertainty. The HBC's governors were increasingly aware they did not have the funds to administer such a large territory — and one that was evolving beyond simply a source of furs, according to Historica Canada.
Macdonald, was ready and willing to step in and relieve the HBC of its domain. Macdonald worried the United States, which had purchased Alaska from Russia in , was interested in annexing Rupert's Land for itself.
Anticipating the transfer of these lands, the federal government sent surveyors out to assess and re-stake the lands. During negotiations with the Canadian government, a group of men opposed to Riel and the MNC prepared to attack but were captured and jailed. Among them was a combative man from Ontario named Thomas Scott, who continually insulted the guards and threatened to shoot Riel if he was ever freed. Scott was sent before a tribunal, convicted of treason, and sentenced to death.
The Manitoba Act, creating the new province and bringing into confederation, was passed by the Canadian Parliament and received royal assent on May 12, At the time, Manitoba was a postage-stamp version of its future size. Much of what we know now as the province was still within the boundary of the North-Western Territories — which would itself become part of Canada as the North-West Territories in July of Most of the new province's 12, citizens lived in small settlements and farms strung along rivers, close to sources of water and wood, neither of which could be found on the rolling plains.
Riel had achieved his goal but it was not a victory he could enjoy for long. It resulted in an agreement to join Confederation. Ottawa agreed to help fund the new provincial government , give roughly 1. The resulting North-West Rebellion in led to the execution of Riel. The Assiniboine , Dakota , Cree and the Dene peoples had occupied the land for 12, to 15, years. The Ojibwa had arrived about years ago. It included all of modern-day Manitoba. The company tried to limit white settlement in the region to maintain its fur trade monopoly.
But after , European migrants began arriving in earnest. See also The Forks. It became known as the Red River Colony. The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in Macdonald , with help from Britain, purchased the territory from the HBC. The Crown, in turn, ceded the land to Canada. However, because of the political disruption of the Red River Rebellion , the transfer did not come into effect until 15 July The Fathers of Confederation are the men who attended one or more of the conferences at Charlottetown , Quebec and London.
A journalist and politician from Ontario, McDougall was a proponent of Confederation. He firmly believed that the only way out of the political impasse between Canada West and Canada East , and the only way to prevent Canada from becoming irrelevant in North America, was a union of the British colonies and expansion westward.
He attended all three Confederation conferences — Charlottetown , Quebec and London. McDougall was minister of public works in Sir John A. He held that title until 12 May when Manitoba became a province. This was one of a series of events that precipitated the Red River Resistance. McDougall then became a vocal opponent to the admission of Manitoba to Confederation.
He argued that it did not possess a large enough population. Louis Riel is considered a founder of Manitoba. But he is not officially recognized as a Father of Confederation. His inclusion as one is the subject of much debate. They feared the loss of their land, their Roman Catholic religion, and their culture under Canadian control. Scott was court-martialed by Riel and executed by firing squad.
See Red River Rebellion. After a long standoff followed by lengthy negotiations in Ottawa , the resistance came to an end. The Red River colonists agreed to enter Confederation. Four successive lists of rights were drafted by the provisional government; the final version became the basis of the Manitoba Act of the federal legislation that created Manitoba.
The final list demanded that Manitoba be admitted into Confederation as a province , not a territory ; that the lieutenant governor of the new province speak both English and French; and that members of the provisional government not face legal consequences for their actions in the Resistance.
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