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The London Conference was held in London, in the United Kingdom, in 1866. It was the third and final in a series of conferences that led to Canadian Confederation in 1867. Sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick gathered to set out the final outline of the proposed Canadian Confederation, resulting in the ''British North America Act, 1867'' (now the '' Constitution Act, 1867''). Upon the conclusion of the discussions by the delegates, the British government directed that a bill be drafted to implement the resolutions of the Conference. Introduced in 1867, the ''British North America Act, 1867'' was passed by both Houses of Parliament and then received royal assent from Queen Victoria on March 29, 1867. It was proclaimed in force on July 1, 1867, creating the
Dominion of Canada While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec C ...
.


The Conference

The London Conference began on December 4, 1866.Andrew McIntosh and P.B. Waite, "London Conference", ''Canadian Encyclopedia'', February 7, 2006; updated by Edward Butts and Andrew McIntosh, February 4, 2020.
/ref> It was a continuation of the Quebec Conference held in 1864, which had produced the Quebec Resolutions. The conference was held at the
Westminster Palace Hotel The Westminster Palace Hotel was a luxury hotel in London, located in the heart of the political district. Opened in 1860, the hotel was the scene of many significant meetings, including the London Conference of 1866 which finalised the details ...
, just across the street from the British Parliament buildings. John A. Macdonald was the chairman of the conference.


Delegates

In 1866, the Province of Canada was composed of
Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...
(now Quebec), and Canada West (now Ontario). The Province of Canada sent a total of six delegates, but for the purposes of the Conference, they were treated as two separate delegations.


Canada East

Canada East sent three delegates: George-Étienne Cartier, Alexander Tilloch Galt, and
Hector-Louis Langevin Sir Hector-Louis Langevin, (August 25, 1826 – June 11, 1906) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Early life and education Langevin was born in Quebec City in 1826. He studied law and was called to ...
.


Canada West

Canada West sent three delegates:
William Pearce Howland Sir William Pearce Howland, (29 May 1811 – 1 January 1907) served as the second Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, from 1868 to 1873. He was one of the Fathers of Confederation. Biography Born in 1811 in Pawling, New York, William Howland ...
, John A. Macdonald, and William McDougall.


New Brunswick

New Brunswick sent five delegates: Charles Fisher, John Mercer Johnson, Peter Mitchell, Samuel Leonard Tilley, and Robert Duncan Wilmot.


Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia send five delegates: Adams George Archibald, William Alexander Henry, Jonathan McCully, John William Ritchie, and Charles Tupper.


Major issues


Inter-colonial railway

One of the major issues when the Conference opened was the proposed Inter-Colonial Railway linking the Province of Canada to the Maritimes. This issue was quickly resolved when Macdonald stated that the Province of Canada agreed that the obligation to build the railway should be included in the legislation.


Structure of the Senate

The composition of the proposed Senate continued to be a major issue, with a suggestion from the British government that the Senate be elected, not appointed.


Denominational schools

A major issue of contention was the education system, with Roman Catholic bishops lobbying for guarantees protecting the
separate school In Canada, a separate school is a type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces (Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and statutory status in the three territories ( Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut). In these Canadi ...
system. This was opposed by delegates from 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 ...
, and the compromise reached was Section 93 of the Act, which guaranteed separate school systems in Quebec and Ontario but not in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.


See also

* Charlottetown Conference, 1864 * Quebec Conference, 1864 * Anti-Confederation Party


References


Further reading

* * *


External links


Canadian Confederation: The London Conference, December 1866 - March 1867
at
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