These events were the true beginning of Canada: a country that defines itself on being egalitarian, multicultural and a democracy. With the same philosophy of governing for the public good, the friendship of Baldwin and Lafontaine brought all of these characteristics to the nation. They may not have been present for the Confederation in 1867, but the men who brought the union of the British North American colonies were already on the foundation of which Canada operates on, due to the work of the Great Ministry. The governing system, bilingualism, and the public education fuelling the next generation Canadians have today, authenticates Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine as founding fathers of Canada.