The Birth of a Nation; Process, Not Point

'The Confederation of Canada was what confirmed Canada’s existence and saw it to grow and progress. Thus, this event could be compared to a pregnancy period; a time where the infant grows and develops. The Confederation of 1867 was the process of the British North American colonies uniting together. The talk of confederation was a “long-simmering idea” by the 1860s. The American Civil War had just ended and the fear of U.S. annexation fuelled the idea, as it would allow the colonies better defense through strength in numbers. Furthermore, uniting together would give life to an inter-colonial railway to connect the Maritime colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, and the Province of Canada; this would improve trade, transportation, as well as military movement.  With these benefits of uniting in mind, two conferences were held for representatives of colonies to discuss the Confederation of Canada, one in Charlottetown in September of 1864 and the other in Quebec a month later. John A. Macdonald delivered a speech in the parliament of Canada in 1865, stating “[Uniting the colonies together] is for the best interest [of] present and future prosperity [for] British North America.” Confederation eventually came to be on July 1st, 1867 with the union of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the province of Canada into the Federal Dominion of Canada; the province of Canada divided into Ontario and Quebec, while the colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia became provinces of the new dominion. However, confederation did not cease relationship of Canada to Britain. Confederation wasn’t the beginning of Canada’s origin, and it wasn’t the end, it was the progression. ‘