The Birth of a Nation

The Fathers of Confederation and the Dominion of Canada

During the mid 1860s, delegates from the British North American colonies actively pursued the notion of a political union that would see the creation of a new nation. These 36 delegates from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and the Province of Canada, who have come to be known as the “Fathers of Confederation”, met in Charlottetown and the City of Québec (1864) as well as London, England (1866-67) to work out the details of union. A concern with expansionist tendencies on the part of the United States gave impetus to the creation of a new nation that would be founded on a deeply held commitment to the principles of British parliamentary democracy and allegiance to the Crown. With the passage of the British North America Act, 1867 (Constitution Act, 1867) by the United Kingdom Parliament, the Dominion of Canada was created not by revolution or force of arms but by evolution and reasoned deliberations. The vision of the Fathers found form in the opening words of section 91 of our constitution that deals with the power to legislate matters for the peace, order and good government of Canada.

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