The Quebec Conference was held from October 10 to 24, 1864, to discuss a proposed
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 ...
.
It was in response to the shift in political ground when the United Kingdom and the United States had come very close to engaging in war with each other.
Therefore, the overall goal of the conference was to elaborate on policies surrounding federalism and creating a single state, both of which had been discussed at the
Charlottetown Conference
The Charlottetown Conference (Canada's Conference) was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation. The conference took place between September 1 thr ...
around a month earlier.
Canada West
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
leader
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 ...
requested
Governor-General Charles Monck to invite all representatives from the three Maritime provinces and
Newfoundland to meet with the candidates who formed the United Canada to Quebec in October 1864. Although Newfoundland sent two observers, it did not participate directly in the proceedings.
The beginnings at Charlottetown
The Charlottetown Conference of September 1864, laid the foundations for the Quebec Conference and was a significant meeting that would determine what would be discussed in the Quebec Conference. During the Conference, the Canadians found support for the confederation, as discussions pointed towards a unified decision to unite the provinces under the name of Canada. The Canada West member, Macdonald, who would be highly prominent in the Quebec Conference, began to find allies that would enable him to have a more dominant and influential role in the Quebec Conference a month later. One key alliance made in the Charlottetown Conference that would transfer over to the Quebec Conference was made between the Maritime delegates and Macdonald as they saw him as less abrasive than the other Canada West official,
George Brown George Brown may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter
* George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist
* George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor
* G ...
. Macdonald appealed to the Maritime populace as he seemed a more friendly and diplomatic alliance than George Brown, and in terms of Canada East politician,
George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.
The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling—is explained ...
, Macdonald was an anglophone, and although Cartier was prominent at the discussions at Charlottetown, the Maritime politicians were yet to get used to the influence and power of the francophone politicians.
On the fifth and final day of the conference, it was clear that a second part of the confederation deal was on the verge of being consummated and that the Charlottetown Conference had been making a breakthrough on the policy of Confederation. The Maritime politicians, however, struggled to agree and accept the details of the Canadians' proposal. On 10 September 1864, in Halifax three days later, they drew up plans to hold another conference in Quebec to finalize the negotiations made during the last few days. They drew up motions for the Quebec Conference after the conclusion of Charlottetown, where they would focus on the confederation of British North America. They also agreed to invite a delegation from Newfoundland, as they were not involved in negotiations at Charlottetown Therefore, the members of Charlottetown wanted to include all provinces of Canada in the negotiations at the Quebec Conference as the Charlottetown Conference had laid the foundations of discussions at the Quebec Conference. During the period between the two sessions, the members of Charlottetown prepared a list of resolutions that would be passed at the Quebec Conference, which proposed the constitution of a new union. These were going to become the "
72 Resolutions."
Conference
The conference involved 33 delegates from various regions of Canada. The meeting included members from Canada East- George-Étienne Cartier,
Étienne-Paschal Taché
Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché (5 September 1795 – 30 July 1865) was a Canadian doctor, politician, and Father of Confederation.
Life
Born in St. Thomas, Lower Canada, in 1795, the third son of Charles Taché and Geneviève Michon, Tachà ...
as well as
Thomas D'Arcy McGee
Thomas D'Arcy McGee (13 April 18257 April 1868) was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of Canadian Confederation. The young McGee was an Irish Catholic who opposed British rule in Ireland, and w ...
. Those from Canada West included George Brown and John A. Macdonald. Members in New Brunswick who also featured were
John Hamilton Gray John Hamilton Gray may refer to two 19th-century Canadian politicians:
*John Hamilton Gray (Prince Edward Island politician) (1811–1887), Premier of Prince Edward Island
*John Hamilton Gray (New Brunswick politician)
John Hamilton Gray, (1 ...
and
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 ...
. Nova Scotian delegates featured
Adams George Archibald
Sir Riley Robert Archibald , more commonly known as Sir Adams George Archibald (May 3, 1814 – December 14, 1892) was a Canadian lawyer and politician, and a Father of Confederation. He was based in Nova Scotia for most of his career, though ...
and
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 ...
. Newfoundland sent two delegates whose mere purpose was to observe proceedings and Prince Edward Island sent
George Coles George Coles may refer to:
* George Coles (Cambridge University cricketer) (1798–1865), English amateur cricketer
* George Coles (politician)
George Coles (September 20, 1810 – August 21, 1875) was a Canadian politician, being the first ...
and
William Henry Pope William, Willie, Will or Bill Pope may refer to:
* William Pope, 1st Earl of Downe (1573–1631)
* William Pope (naturalist) (1811–1903), English-born naturalist and painter
* William Burt Pope (1822–1903), English Christian theologian
* Willi ...
. The two Newfoundland delegates were
Frederick Carter
Sir Frederick Bowker Terrington Carter, (February 12, 1819 – March 1, 1900) was a lawyer and Premier of Newfoundland from 1865 to 1870 and from 1874 to 1878.
Career
Carter was the son of Peter Weston Carter''Volume one, p. 363, Encyclopedia ...
and
Ambrose Shea, who were not government members. Overall Nova Scotia had five members, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had seven each, and the total made up all the delegates, making up all of the Maritime delegates. There were 32 delegates in total, and were given sets of calling cards, with the names and photo identification so everyone was clear with names and where certain people represented.
The Conference lasted 14 days, but to some people, such as
Edward Goff Penny
Edward Goff Penny (15 May 1820 – 11 October 1881) was an English-Canadian journalist, businessman, and politician.
Born in Islington (now part of London), England, Penny moved to Canada in 1844, settling in Montreal, Quebec and joined the ...
, editor of the Montreal Herald, and an eventual senator, complained that this was too little time to conclude proceedings.
The major source of conflict at the conference was between those who favoured a "legislative union" a unitary state, such as John A. Macdonald, and those who favoured stronger provincial rights. The Conference tied in very closely with the discussions of the aforementioned Charlottetown Conference, as the topics being discussed in Quebec centred around whether the country should have a strong and single central government, or a more encompassing federal system.
Representatives from the
Maritimes and
Canada East (now
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
) tended to argue for provincial rights, fearing they would lose their cultural identity under a centralized unitary state. John A. Macdonald thought the failure of a weak central power was evident in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, which was still being fought in the United States as the delegates met in Charlottetown and Quebec. The delegates eventually compromised, dividing powers between a "general" parliament and "local" provincial legislatures. They also decided to have an elected lower house, the
House of Commons of Canada, and an appointed upper house, the
Senate of Canada, although there was considerable debate about how many senators each province would have. The Prince Edward Island delegation called for a scheme similar to the
Triple-E Senate
The Triple-E Senate (a mnemonic contrived acronym for '' equal'', ''elected'', and ''effective'') is a proposed reform of the Canadian Senate, calling for senators to be elected to exercise effective powers in numbers equally representative of ea ...
proposal of the 1990s. Eventually, a proposed structure for the government was written out in the form of the seventy-two resolutions at the end of the conference.
Following on from the topic of the proposed division of the central government into the upper house, that would be based on regional representation and the lower house that would represent the population, this was a key topic in both the Charlottetown Conference and the Quebec Conference. This topic was discussed at length during the conference with one examiner outlining that the meeting on 24 October 1864, that the topic was "debated all day with considerable warmth and ability but no agreement come to". He also outlined that "lower Canada complains that in the number proposed for her, 24, she would be unfairly represented (in the upper house), with it being proposed that upper Canada should have the same number." This discussion carried on over into the Quebec Conference in the hope that an agreement could be eventually made considering that it was not concluded at the end of the Charlottetown Conference.
In terms of what the regions as a whole desired, it was quite overtly clear. Delegates from the Maritimes feared that a legislative union which the aforementioned John A. Macdonald was promoting, as they believed it would result in the loss of their identity as other nations would have an overbearing influence. However, the smaller Maritime colonies saw the Senate as a means of strengthening their regional representation to offset their regional weakness in the so-called lower house. Cartier represented the interests of Quebec at the conference. Like the delegates from the Maritimes, he was more invested in the conference although he made it abundantly clear that the province needed a strong provincial government that would be able to protect their language, civil customs and local laws. Although he was not wholeheartedly against such political reform, he believed that Quebec should still maintain its identity.
In terms of priorities at the Conference, there were many differing agendas, especially the Maritime regions that, as mentioned earlier, saw a federalized state as beneficial to their economy and commerce. An example of this was the role of
John A. Carter, one of the Newfoundland diplomats invited to the conference, as he outlined the importance of the fisheries to the Newfoundland economy, and that a newly formed federalized state would open up a wide field of enterprise both with internal trade in Canada and within the continent of North America as a whole.
However, one concern of the Maritime colonies was that they benefited from free trade and the aforementioned commerce of fishing for their livelihood, Canada was more concerned about industrialization in all the provinces, creating significant improvements to the Canadian economy. Such a concern was raised during the Conference as the Maritime colonies wished to maintain their stable economy. In contrast, some members from Prince Edward Island was highly skeptical of a union as advocated by Macdonald, as they were concerned about the Island's autonomy if there was a confederation. The concept of particularism, with paranoia surrounding an overpowering Canada dictating Maritime policy, was a salient characteristic of political thinking among numerous people in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. That demonstrated that even within the Maritimes, there were varying degrees of skepticism, with some parts more in favour than others highlighting the complexities of the Maritimes. One key figure, Charles Tupper who was a politician from Nova Scotia who formed close alliances with John A. Macdonald, sympathized with the goal of confederation and stated that the Maritimes "could never hope to occupy a position of influence or importance except in connection with their larger sister Canada." That highlighted the varying degrees in which delegates from the Maritimes viewed the idea of confederation.
Result
Overall, the result was a compromise, as each province would have its own legislature and the power of government was divided up between the federal and provincial governments.
It was decided that the central administrative area was to be placed in Ottawa, where the central government would reside.
Delegates consolidated their previous agreement at the Charlottetown Conference, that the central government would have a lower house based on population and an upper house reflective of regional representation.
The three separate regions of Ontario, Quebec, and the three Maritime provinces would all have 24 seats in the appointment chamber. The actual overall result meant that Canada incorporated portions of both the British Unitary system and the American federal system.
The "72 Resolutions" were drawn up by the end of the conference, which maintained none of the democratic principles as demonstrated in the United States. The resolutions did not guarantee the protection for the rights of French Canadians and excluded them extensively in other parts of the legislature.
However, the Christian faith was well protected as both Catholics and Protestant minorities were granted Canada’s equality of rights and special privileges in anything involving education. Such resolutions received wide recognition and support from the colonial office. In Lower Canada, Reformers opposed the resolutions but were the only group to do so. In Nova Scotia, pressure was needed to force through legislative approval of the resolutions.
Additionally, the federal government was given considerable power over the provinces, as was demonstrated under the power of disallowance, which gave the federal government the ability to reject provincial laws of which they did not approve. Other regions were considered as a result of the conference, including Newfoundland, British Columbia and the “North West Territory", to eventually enter Canada on equal terms later. Although the Quebec Conference changed the political influence in Canada considerably, the British crown would maintain its position as the head of the government and the protector and head of executive authority.
The 72 Resolutions
The Resolutions were highly comprehensive. The first few resolutions outlined that the general government would ensure that the intercolonial railway would be completed from Riviere-du-Loup, through New Brunswick and end up at Truro in Nova Scotia. The delegates from Nova Scotia also admitted that the building of the railway with the full financial backing of the central government was key in swaying the Maritimes decision to back a centralized government. The arrangements proposed by Alexander Galt in terms of finance, predominantly focusing on existing debts of various debts owed by certain colonies should be divided and shared. Some of the final resolutions outline that her the Queen possess considerable power over the course of proceedings as Resolution 71 underlined that the Queen was to be solicited to determine the rank and name of the federated provinces.
Resolution 60 outlined that the central government would tackle the debts of all the provinces and aid the payments of all those involved.
What was eventually enacted was the policy which resulted in each province being compensated by a federal transfer resulting in 80 cents per head.
The Quebec resolutions received increasing support from the colonial office, with the only opposing group being the Lower Canadian Reformers who had not been drafted into the coalition. In both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, considerable pressure was needed to formulate and pass through legislative approval. Prince Edward Island did not join the newly formed unified Canada until around 1873.
The 72 Resolutions significantly influenced the ''British North America Act'', as will be discussed in the next section, and little was altered or changed to the resolutions when enacted in London.
The ''British North America Act, 1867'' and the Quebec Conference's legacy
The ''
British North America Act'' received royal acceptance on 28 March 1867 by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, and by 22 May, all three provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada). Upper and Lower Canada were to be split into Ontario (Upper Canada) and Quebec (Lower Canada). All of these provinces were to be unified by 1 July 1867, three years after the agreement was made at the Quebec Conference. In the ''Act'', it was clearly stated that 'not being more than six months of passing this act, the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall form and be one dominion under the name of Canada.' It went onto outline that 'Canada shall be divided into four provinces, named Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.' However, although Canada was unified under the ''British North America Act'', the act contained no general declaration or recognition of the fact that Canada was a bilingual and bicultural nation. Therefore, the official language of the newly unified Canada was the language of the Crown, with no recognition of the language of French in the francophone region of Quebec. Overall, the ''British North America Act'' consolidated the 72 Resolutions as passed by the Quebec Conference, but the ''British North American Act'' introduced into the Canadian Government a new factor, the sovereignty of the British Crown.
Delegates
Canada East
*
George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.
The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling—is explained ...
*
Jean-Charles Chapais
Jean-Charles Chapais, (December 2, 1811 – July 17, 1885) was a Canadian Conservative politician, and considered a Father of Canadian Confederation for his participation in the Quebec Conference to determine the form of Canada's governmen ...
*
Alexander Tilloch Galt
Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, (September 6, 1817 – September 19, 1893) was a politician and a father of the Canadian Confederation.
Early life
Galt was born in Chelsea, England on September 6, 1817. He was the son of John Galt, a Scottis ...
*
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 t ...
*
Thomas D'Arcy McGee
Thomas D'Arcy McGee (13 April 18257 April 1868) was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of Canadian Confederation. The young McGee was an Irish Catholic who opposed British rule in Ireland, and w ...
*
Étienne-Paschal Taché
Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché (5 September 1795 – 30 July 1865) was a Canadian doctor, politician, and Father of Confederation.
Life
Born in St. Thomas, Lower Canada, in 1795, the third son of Charles Taché and Geneviève Michon, Tachà ...
Canada West
*
George Brown George Brown may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter
* George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist
* George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor
* G ...
*
Alexander Campbell
*
James Cockburn
*
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 ...
*
William McDougall
*
Oliver Mowat
Sir Oliver Mowat (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1903) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and Ontario Liberal Party leader. He served for nearly 24 years as the third premier of Ontario. He was the eighth lieutenant governor of Ontario and one of ...
New Brunswick
*
Edward Barron Chandler
Edward Barron Chandler (August 22, 1800 – February 6, 1880) was a New Brunswick politician and lawyer from a United Empire Loyalist family. He was one of the Fathers of Confederation.
Chandler was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia and moved t ...
*
Charles Fisher
*
John Hamilton Gray John Hamilton Gray may refer to two 19th-century Canadian politicians:
*John Hamilton Gray (Prince Edward Island politician) (1811–1887), Premier of Prince Edward Island
*John Hamilton Gray (New Brunswick politician)
John Hamilton Gray, (1 ...
*
John Mercer Johnson
John Mercer Johnson (October 1818 – November 8, 1868) was a Canadian lawyer and politician from the Province of New Brunswick, and a Father of Confederation. He represented Northumberland in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from ...
*
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
...
*
William H. Steeves
*
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 ...
Nova Scotia
*
Adams George Archibald
Sir Riley Robert Archibald , more commonly known as Sir Adams George Archibald (May 3, 1814 – December 14, 1892) was a Canadian lawyer and politician, and a Father of Confederation. He was based in Nova Scotia for most of his career, though ...
*
Robert B. Dickey
Robert Barry Dickey (November 10, 1811 – July 14, 1903) was a participant in the conferences leading to the Canadian Confederation of 1867 and is therefore considered to be one of the Fathers of Confederation.
Born in Amherst, the son of ...
*
William Alexander Henry
William Alexander Henry (December 30, 1816 – May 3, 1888) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and judge. He was one of the Fathers of Confederation and one of the first judges of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Henry was born in Halifax, Nov ...
*
Jonathan McCully
Jonathan McCully (July 25, 1809 – January 2, 1877) was a participant at the Confederation conferences at Charlottetown, Quebec City, and in London, and is thus considered one of the Fathers of Canadian Confederation. He did much to promot ...
*
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 ...
*
John William Ritchie
John William Ritchie (26 March 1808 – 13 or 18 December 1890) was a Canadians, Canadian lawyer and politician from Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia who is one of the Father of Confederation#Fathers of Confederation, Fat ...
*
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 ...
Prince Edward Island
*
George Coles George Coles may refer to:
* George Coles (Cambridge University cricketer) (1798–1865), English amateur cricketer
* George Coles (politician)
George Coles (September 20, 1810 – August 21, 1875) was a Canadian politician, being the first ...
*
John Hamilton Gray John Hamilton Gray may refer to two 19th-century Canadian politicians:
*John Hamilton Gray (Prince Edward Island politician) (1811–1887), Premier of Prince Edward Island
*John Hamilton Gray (New Brunswick politician)
John Hamilton Gray, (1 ...
*
Thomas Heath Haviland
Thomas Heath Haviland (13 November 1822 – 11 September 1895) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and father of Canadian Confederation. He was born in, and died in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He was appointed to the Senate of Canad ...
*
Andrew Archibald Macdonald
Andrew Archibald Macdonald, (14 February 1829 – 21 March 1912) served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island from 1 August 1884 to 2 September 1889, and was one of the fathers of Canadian Confederation.
Birth and ea ...
*
Edward Palmer Edward Palmer may refer to:
* Edward Palmer (d.1624) (1555–1624), antiquary and projector of a university in Virginia
* Edward Palmer (socialist) (1802–1886), American religious socialist
* Edward Palmer (Canadian politician) (1809–1889), Pri ...
*
William Henry Pope William, Willie, Will or Bill Pope may refer to:
* William Pope, 1st Earl of Downe (1573–1631)
* William Pope (naturalist) (1811–1903), English-born naturalist and painter
* William Burt Pope (1822–1903), English Christian theologian
* Willi ...
*
Edward Whelan
Newfoundland (observers)
*
Frederick Carter
Sir Frederick Bowker Terrington Carter, (February 12, 1819 – March 1, 1900) was a lawyer and Premier of Newfoundland from 1865 to 1870 and from 1874 to 1878.
Career
Carter was the son of Peter Weston Carter''Volume one, p. 363, Encyclopedia ...
*
Ambrose Shea
See also
*
Charlottetown Conference, 1864
*
London Conference, 1866
*
Anti-Confederation Party
''Anti-Confederation'' was the name used in what is now the Maritimes by several parties opposed to Canadian Confederation. The Anti-Confederation parties were accordingly opposed by the Confederation Party, that is, the Conservative and Liberal ...
References
Bibliography
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Notes
{{Authority control
Canadian Confederation
19th century in Quebec City
Constitutional conventions (political meeting)
1864 in Canada
1864 in Quebec
1864 conferences
October 1864 events
Events of National Historic Significance (Canada)