The Impact of the Catholic Church on Confederation

‘The Catholic Church was instrumental in shaping the colonies of New France that would eventually become the province of Lower Canada or Canada East through early evangelical exploits. They founded much of the educational infrastructure as well as the medical and social structure of New France. When the British conquered Canada, agreements were made to keep the language and culture of the region safe; including its religious beliefs. All of these elements establish a very strong catholic influence in Lower Canada but the church was also very influential in regions of the Maritimes as well as minorities in Upper Canada; with populations of 206, 000 and 167,695 respectively. The majority of catholic Canadians were francophone, however, making up approximately 83% of Lower Canada’s population. The sheer influence of the Catholic Church in these regions often meant that catholic voters were influenced by their clergymen when casting their votes. In certain cases, the results of elections had to be annulled due to overwhelming interference by the church. All these facts demonstrate that the Catholic Church had become a very influential player in Canadian politics. The catholic influence was important at the Charlottetown and Quebec conferences as it represented a large part of the sentiment in Lower Canada, despite remaining a minority in other regions. This was crucial, as while the populations of the Maritimes and Upper Canada were negligible, and Lower Canada was the closest political equal to Upper Canada in terms of population. Some historians believe that assuming the French-Canadians had not agreed to the Confederation, it is unlikely the union of the provinces would have ended the same way. The sheer number of individuals influenced in their decisions through the Catholic Church was far greater than the influence of any independent party, which makes its impact more significant than any one party.’