Confederation
The British North America Act, which created the
"Dominion" of Canada, was passed by the British parliament in
1867. The British parliament passed the Act as the Canadians had
designed it. The Act gave general powers to the federal government, and
described the powers of the provinces, but it did not allow Canada to
be totally independent. Certain important powers, such as dealings with
other states, immigration, command of the armed forces and especially
the power to change the Act itself, stayed in the hands of the British
parliament. The most important change between the proposals of the Canadians
and the Act was in the name of our country. The Canadians had wanted to
call it "Kingdom of Canada"; instead, the British changed the
name to "Dominion of Canada", so as not to offend the Americans.
 [D]
Click for larger version, 73 KB
Engraving of Notre Dame Street, Montreal
The name of Canada is believed to come from the Iroquois word "Kanata",
meaning "village" or "community". This name was first
used in a 1534 text written by Jacques Cartier describing the Indian village
of Stadacona.
So Canada became a separate country in 1867. It was a confederation of
four provinces: the two older ones, Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick, and the new ones, Ontario
and Quebec. They all kept the boundaries
they had before Confederation, except that what used to be the province
of Canada was divided into the new provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The
boundary between these two new provinces followed the one which had existed
between Upper and Lower Canada.
In 1825, the extent of Labrador inland from the coast, which had
been the subject of dispute between Canada and Newfoundland, was
referred to the Privy Council in London, whose decision (1927),
based on the evidence submitted, fixed the boundary as shown on
the map. Before 1927, the maps of this series show the approximate
boundary claimed by Newfoundland.
Nova Scotia
The settlement of Port Royal in the Annapolis Valley of Acadia was first
built in 1605 by the French. Although it was abandoned in 1607, it was
reestablished in 1610.
In 1713, France surrendered Acadia to the British, but kept Île Royale
(Cape Breton Island). The British changed the name of Acadia to Nova
Scotia. In 1719, the French began to build a fortified port, Louisbourg,
on Île Royale. Louisbourg was captured by the British in 1745, then returned
to France in 1748. But in 1749, the British built a fortress on a hill
overlooking the port of Halifax.
The British did not trust the French settlers so after 1755, thousands
of French Acadians were forced to leave their lands, and were shipped
to the thirteen colonies to the south. In 1758, Louisbourg was again taken
by the British, who then changed the name of the island to Cape Breton
Island. Île St. Jean was separated from the colony of Nova Scotia in 1769
and renamed Prince Edward Island in 1798.
After the American War of Independence, 35 000 to 40 000 Loyalists (settlers
from the U.S. who were loyal to the British Crown) settled in Acadia.
In 1784, the colony of Acadia was divided into three colonies: New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. Cape Breton Island
was re-annexed to Nova Scotia in 1820.
New Brunswick
As early as 1751, there were two French forts in the region that is
now New Brunswick: Fort Beauséjour and Fort Gaspereau. The colony
of New Brunswick was created in 1784, after the arrival of a group of
Loyalists (U.S. settlers loyal to the British Crown) in 1783. It was
named in honour of the Duchy of Brunswick. Timber became the basis of
a major industry, and Saint John grew to become a trading centre, because
of its ship-building.
In the 1830s and 1840s, there were disputes between the lumbermen of
New Brunswick and Maine. When an American official was arrested by the
New Brunswick authorities for cutting timber in the Aroostook region of
New Brunswick, it became obvious that Americans and New Brunswickers had
to agree on where the boundary was. Final agreement was reached in 1842.
Maine gained a northward thrust of land that would make the building a
railway between Quebec and New Brunswick difficult.
When New Brunswick was created, it assumed the boundaries that had existed
between the previous colony of Nova Scotia and the future province of
Quebec. This boundary was defined as the watershed between the waters
that drain into the St. Lawrence and those that drain into the ocean.
Shortly after the creation of New Brunswick, there was a controversy
over the control of the seigniory of Madawaska. Settlement of the dispute
was attempted in 1787, but failed. A commission appointed in 1848, studied
the issue and issued a report, but the province of Canada did not agree
with its decision. So, in 1850, two arbitrators were appointed, one by
each province, to settle the question. Their 1851 decision made adjustments
to the boundary that were acceptable to both sides. The dispute was finally
settled in 1851 by an Imperial Act of Parliament. This boundary is still
used.
There had also been a controversy about the boundary between Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick since the creation of the colony of New
Brunswick, because the boundary divided some of the older settlements
between the two colonies. Nova Scotia wanted all of these settlements
to be inside its own territory, while New Brunswick had no problems
with the existing boundaries. In 1858 to 1859, a new boundary was
delimited. It included only a few changes, but it was accepted by
both provinces and has remained the same since.
Ontario
Ontario is an old Iroquois word which means "the shining waters".
The name was first given to Lake Ontario, and then to the whole province.
The present international boundary between Ontario and the United States
was defined when both were still British colonies. In 1763, when the British
took over Quebec, the boundaries were defined in a Royal Proclamation.
The boundaries were changed in 1783, after the U.S. War of Independence.
The colony of Quebec in 1783 included parts of the present provinces of
Quebec and Ontario.
In 1791, with the Canada Act, the British divided the colony of Quebec
into Upper and Lower Canada. Each was allowed to have its own types of
civil and family law. English common law was established in Upper Canada.
The dividing line between the two provinces was the Ottawa River. At the
time, the western boundary of Upper Canada was described as the maximum
limits of Canada.
According to an 1818 Convention, Great Britain and the United States
agreed that the western boundary between Canada and the United States
would be the 49th parallel, from the northwestern corner of Lake of the
Woods to the Rocky Mountains. In 1826, the most northwesterly corner of
Lake of the Woods was determined and a marker was built on the spot. This
had the effect of cutting off a wide peninsula from Canada and giving
it to the U.S., even though the land was not accessible from American
territory.
In 1840, after a report written by Lord Durham, Upper and Lower
Canada were combined into the province of Canada. This province
remained divided into two parts, Canada East (Quebec) and Canada
West (Ontario). Each had equal representation in the colonial parliament.
The province of Ontario, with its boundaries as defined in 1791, was
created in 1867, and became a province of Canada at Confederation.
Quebec
In 1535 and 1541, Jacques Cartier explored and spent the winter in the
region that is now Quebec; however, he did not establish a permanent
settlement. The first permanent settlement in what is now the province
of Quebec was established in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain where Quebec
(city) is now found. Champlain called the settlement Québec,
an Indian word meaning
"the place where the water narrows." The colony, called New
France, slowly expanded under French rule. The French gave up their
North American colonies (except for Saint-Pierre et Miquelon and Louisiana)
in 1763, under the Treaty of Paris, following the Seven Years' War.
The British named their colony Quebec.
The international boundary between Quebec and the United States developed
slowly. In 1763, when the British took over, Quebec's boundaries were
defined in the Royal Proclamation of 1763, and included parts of today's
provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The boundaries were redefined in 1783,
after the U.S. War of Independence.
In 1791, with the passage of the Canada Act, the British divided the
colony of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada. The dividing line
between the two provinces was the Ottawa River. Lower Canada retained
French civil law and their laws based on French traditions.
In 1840, after a report by Lord Durham, the provinces of Upper and Lower
Canada were combined into the province of Canada. This province remained
divided into two parts, Canada East and Canada West. Each had equal representation
in the colonial parliament.
The province of Quebec, with its boundaries as defined in 1791, was created
in 1867, and became a province of Canada at Confederation.
The animation Territorial
Evolution 1867 to 1999 shows sequentially the history of the
political boundary changes in Canada from Confederation to the creation
of Nunavut.
|
![[D]](https://bac-lac.wayback.archive-it.org/web/20060203151818/http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/photo1867.jpg/image_longdesc_view){kind=link}
