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The material has been copied from

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/kids/023002-1000-e.html
Note: The links and references to the website are no longer active.

How Canada was formed

The Shaping of Canada

Today Canada is the second-largest country in the world. It has an area of almost
10 000 000 square kilometres, and is made up of ten provinces and three territories.
Canada became a country in 1867, but the story of the people and the land that would
become Canada is much older. Many events over the last five hundred years have
shaped the way Canada looked at the time of Confederation.

In the 1500s explorers from Europe came to North America to claim lands. They
realized that this land was rich in resources. Soon settlement began, with people
seeking a new life in the new world. The two European countries that figured the
most in North America were Britain and France. They met Aboriginal Nations that
had been living for thousands of years in what is now Canada. These First Nations
and Britain and France often had difficult relations. They often went to war with
each other but sometimes they were friends.

Britain vs. France

When the Seven Years War ended in 1763, France had to surrender its land in North
America to Britain. From this time on Britain had control of most of North America.

Britain vs. America

At the time of the war with France most of Britain's colonies in North America were
in what we now call the United States. However, these thirteen colonies were angry
at the way Britain had been treating them, so in 1775 they began a war with Britain
for their independence. The Americans won the war and the British were forced to
recognize the United States as its own country. Because of the war Britain lost much
of its land, and had a bad relationship with the United States. The land left over was
called British North America. This would become Canada almost 100 years later.

British North America

In the 1860s there were many British colonies in what is now Canada: British
Columbia, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and
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the Province of Canada. At this time the idea of all the colonies joining to make a
new country became popular. But what were the reasons behind this move towards
Confederation?

Why Confederation?

In the 1860s the British colonies were facing many different kinds of problems. One
solution for all of these was for the colonies to come together to form one country.
These are the problems that led to Confederation:

Political problems

The Province of Canada contained the most people and was later made into the
provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The government of the Province of Canada did
not run smoothly because the English-speaking and French-speaking halves had
different ideas about how things should be run. Leaders from both parts of the
province decided that joining the other colonies might help solve their own political
problems.

Economic problems

In order for their economies to do well, the colonies needed to be able to sell their
goods to other markets. At this time there were very few places that they could sell
to. One solution was to bring all the colonies together. In this way they could more
easily sell their goods to each other.

Military problems

Since America had fought Britain to gain its independence the relationship between
British North America and the United States had never been stable. The relationship
became even worse when Britain supported the South in the American Civil War.
The North won the war and was angry at Britain for helping the South. Many
Americans wanted to take over all of what is now Canada.

Meanwhile, Britain didn't want to have to pay for the cost of defending its colonies.
It decided to encourage the colonies to join together, because the United States
would be less likely to attack Canada if it were a self-governing country rather than
separate colonies of Britain. The fear of the United States helped to strengthen the
call for Confederation.
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On The Road to Confederation

For all of these reasons the Province of Canada began to plan for Confederation.
Leaders from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island had already
thought about joining together in a Maritime union and were planning a conference.
The politicians from the Province of Canada asked if they could come to the meeting
to propose a larger union of all the British North American colonies. The Maritime
colonies agreed to let them attend, and all the leaders met at Charlottetown on Prince
Edward Island. This was the first of the three conferences that led to Confederation
in 1867.

The Charlottetown Conference, September 1864

The politicians from the Province of Canada convinced the politicians from New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island to consider a larger union. They
agreed to meet again to discuss Confederation. The next conference was at Quebec
City.

The Quebec Conference, October 1864

During this conference the leaders had to work out how the new country would be
run. The decisions they came to were called the Quebec Resolutions. Although
Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland both took part, after the conference they
both decided not to join Confederation at that time.

The London Conference, December 1866-January 1867

This was the last conference, and it took place in London, England. Leaders from
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada had to take the rough draft
of the Quebec Resolutions and come up with a final agreement. The document they
created was called the British North America Act. Once British Parliament approved
it, Confederation could go ahead.

Confederation, July 1, 1867

On this date Canada became a country with four provinces. New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia hardly changed, but the Province of Canada was split into two new
provinces: Ontario and Quebec. A look at the map of Canada in 1867 will show a
very different Canada from that of today.
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It would take more than a century to add the other six provinces and three territories
that today make up Canada. This site is the story of how each province and territory
came to be part of Canada.

People in the Background

When Canada entered Confederation over a century ago some groups of people were
not given the chance to participate in the talks or to have their opinions heard. Two
groups were especially important:

Native peoples

The First Nations and Inuit peoples have lived in North America for thousands of
years. However, by the time of Confederation the European settlers had taken control
of much of the land. Treaties were made with many First Nations to move them onto
smaller areas of land called reserves. The government tried to make these people live
like Europeans. For example, they supported missionaries who took Native children
away to teach them the religion and lifestyle of Europeans.

The idea was to make Native people fit in with the Europeans that surrounded them.
Today we realize that one group should not try to change the way of life of another,
but in the 1860s this was not seen to be a bad thing. Not only did the politicians try
to change the life of these people, but they also did not include them in negotiations
for Confederation. Native people had no say over the future of the land that they had
lived on for thousands of years.

Women

At the time of Confederation in 1867 women were not allowed to be politicians.

They were not even allowed to vote in federal elections. It was not until 1918 that
women could vote in federal elections, and not until 1919 that women gained the
right to be elected to the House of Commons. At the time of Confederation women
did not have the power to express themselves in politics.

Glossary:

Confederation:
The coming together of the colonies in British North America. Three colonies were
made into four provinces. These were Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick. They became the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. The other
provinces and territories joined later.
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Territory:
A piece of land in Canada that is not a province. In the past, a territory was governed
by someone named by the federal government. Later, this person governed together
with a group of leaders elected by the people. Now, all the leaders are elected. There
are now three territories in Canada: The Northwest Territories, the Yukon and
Nunavut.

Province:
Some Canadian provinces were originally colonies of Britain. Eventually all the
colonies joined Canada and became provinces. The provinces and the federal
government share power. The provinces are responsible for things like schools,
hospitals, local government and keeping highways in order. There are ten provinces
in Canada.

North America:
The continent that contains Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland,
Bermuda and the French islands of St-Pierre et Miquelon.

European:
Someone originally from the continent of Europe.

Britain:
The group of countries comprised of England, Wales, Scotland and part of Ireland.
In the past Britain created a great empire that explored and claimed land around the
world as colonies. Some of the British colonies eventually became the provinces of
Canada.

First Nations:
The Native peoples who have been living in North America before and since the
Europeans came, except the Inuit. Europeans called them "Indians" at first because
they had darker skin than the Europeans, and because the Europeans thought they
had reached.
Independence:
A situation in which a country has its own government, and rules itself. The
Americans fought a war of independence against Britain because they no longer
wanted to be ruled by the British.
British North America:
After the United States broke away from Britain, the remaining British colonies in
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North America were together called British North America. These were the
colonies that later came together to form Canada.
Province of Canada:
In 1840 the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada were joined to form the Province
of Canada. Upper Canada was mostly English speaking, while Lower Canada was
mostly French speaking. After Confederation Upper Canada became the province
of Ontario, and Lower Canada became the province of Quebec.
Colony:
A settlement of people who leave their country to go live in a new land. The British
and French governments both set up colonies in North America hundreds of years
ago. The British won control of these colonies in the Seven Years War.
Economy:
The combined business and work done by a community. When people are buying a
lot and businesses are getting richer, the economy is said to be good. At the time of
Confederation, the fur trade, farming, logging, mining, shipbuilding and the railway
industry all helped contribute to Canada's economy.
Maritime:
A word that means "connected to the sea", or "found near the sea". In Canada we
call New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island the Maritime Provinces,
or just the Maritimes. This is because of their closeness to the ocean.
Union:
When people or governments join for a common reason or purpose. Confederation
was a union of British colonies that believed that they would be stronger together
than apart.
Conference:
A meeting. There were many meetings necessary for all the colonies to agree to form
Canada. The government of each colony wanted to get the best deal for its citizens.
Maritime colonies:
The British colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
before they became provinces of Canada. These three provinces together are now
called the Maritimes.
Charlottetown Conference:
The first meeting of leaders from the Province of Canada and the Maritime
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colonies to discuss the idea of Confederation. It took place at Charlottetown,

Prince Edward Island, in September of 1864. At first the meeting was meant only
to talk about a union of the Maritime colonies, but leaders from Canada asked that
they be able to propose a larger union.
Quebec Conference:
The second meeting where leaders from the Province of Canada, the Maritime
colonies and Newfoundland came together to talk about Confederation. They met
in Quebec City in October 1864 to create a document called the Quebec
Resolutions. After this conference each colony brought these resolutions back to its
legislative assembly to be voted on. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland
turned down the agreement.
London Conference:
The last of the three Confederation Conferences. It took place in London, England
in December of 1866. At this conference leaders from the Province of Canada,
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia turned the rough draft of the Quebec Resolutions
into the British North America Act. Once this was done Canada officially became a
country on July 1, 1867.
Document:
Written information. For example, the British North America Act document set down
the information on how the governments in Canada would work.
British North America Act:
When the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and
the Province of Canada joined in 1867 they first had to discuss how the new
country would be run. They wrote up the rules for the new country in a document
they called the British North America Act. The British Government approved of
this Act on March 29, 1867. This led to the creation of the Dominion of Canada on
July 1, 1867. In 1982, the BNA Act was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867.
Inuit:
Native people who live in the arctic regions of Canada, and in Greenland and
Alaska.
Missionaries:
People sent to another place to spread a religion or do social work.
Negotiations:
Discussions between people who try to come to an agreement on something.