''Anti-Confederation'' was the name used in what is now the

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

by several parties opposed to

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) 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 Canada, Dom ...

. The Anti-Confederation parties were accordingly opposed by the

Confederation Party ''Confederation Party'' was a term for the parties supporting Canadian confederation in the British colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland in the 1860s when politics became polarised between supporters and opponents of Confederati ...

, that is, the Conservative and Liberal-Conservative parties.

Nova Scotia

In 1867 in Nova Scotia, Anti-Confederates won 36 out of 38 seats in the provincial

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

, and formed a government under

William Annand William Annand (April 10, 1808 – October 12, 1887) was a Nova Scotia publisher and politician. He was a member of the North British Society. Annand was born in Halifax. He was educated in Scotland and returned to Nova Scotia in the 1820 ...

(See 24th General Assembly of Nova Scotia). The Anti-Confederation Party was opposed by the

Charles Tupper Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led N ...

. Prominent Anti-confederates included the noted shipbuilder William D. Lawrence,

Alfred William Savary Alfred William Savary, (10 October 1831 – 30 March 1920) served as a Nova Scotia member of the 1st Canadian Parliament for the Digby riding. Savary was born in Plympton, Nova Scotia, the son of Sabine Savary and Olivia Marshall, and wa ...

and the wealthy merchant

Enos Collins Enos Collins (5 September 1774 – 18 November 1871) was a merchant, shipowner, banker and privateer from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the founder of the Halifax Banking Company, which eventually was merged with the Canadian Bank of Commerce in ...

. Federally, in the 1867 federal election, the Anti-Confederates won 18 of Nova Scotia's 19 seats in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

Joseph Howe Joseph Howe (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer ha ...

won the federal seat in

Hants County, Nova Scotia Hants County is an historical county and census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the West Hants Regional Municipality, and the Municipality of the District of East Hants. History Formation The county of Hants ...

, while William D. Lawrence won the Hants County provincial seat.

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, however, refused to allow Nova Scotia to secede. While many anti-confederationists threatened to secede and join the United States, Howe was a pragmatist and ultimately accepted Confederation as a fact. He was soon persuaded to join the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

, leading to the movement's collapse (1869).

New Brunswick

There was also an ''Anti-Confederation Party'' in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

led by

Albert James Smith Sir Albert James Smith (March 12, 1822 – June 30, 1883) was a New Brunswick politician and opponent of Canadian confederation. Smith's grandfather was a United Empire Loyalist who left Massachusetts to settle in New Brunswick after the Am ...

, whose coalition of Conservatives and Reformers won the 1865 election. It was, however, soundly defeated in the 1866 election by the

led by

Peter Mitchell Peter or Pete Mitchell may refer to: Media *Pete Mitchell (broadcaster) (1958–2020), British broadcaster *Peter Mitchell (newsreader) (born 1960), Australian journalist *Peter Mitchell (photographer) (born 1943), British documentary photographer ...

. The legislature that resulted from that election approved Confederation by a margin of 38 to 1. Accordingly, in the 1867 federal election the ''Anti-Confederates'' did not win any of New Brunswick's fifteen seats in the House of Commons of Canada. While in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and elsewhere, opponents of confederation were predominantly Liberals and supporters were predominantly Tories, in New Brunswick the debate blurred party lines. Anti-Confederate leader Albert Smith and Confederate Peter Mitchell were both

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, while one of the most prominent leaders of the pro-Confederation forces,

Samuel Leonard Tilley Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley (May 8, 1818June 25, 1896) was a Canadian politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Tilley was descended from United Empire Loyalists on both sides of his family. As a pharmacist, he went into business as a ...

, was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

. Tilley later joined the government of Sir

. Both Anti-Confederate and Confederate forces were mixtures of Tories and Reformers (Liberals). By 1870, the Confederate and Anti-Confederate parties had dissolved and were replaced by the old Liberal and Tory parties.

References

External links

Anti-Confederation Petition from Nova Scotia, June 1868Reports of meetings held in the province of Nova Scotia, to consider a repeal of the "British North America Act, 1867."(1868)
{{Canadian federal political parties * Political parties in pre-Confederation New Brunswick Political parties in pre-Confederation Nova Scotia Defunct secessionist organizations in Canada Politics of Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

New Brunswick

See also

References

External links