Charlottetown Conference

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The Charlottetown Conference delegates on the stairs of Government House

The Charlottetown Conference was an international conference held September 1-8, 1864 in Charlottetown , capital of Prince Edward Island . Representatives of various colonies in British North America were present , who for the first time discussed the possibility of merging into a Canadian confederation .

prehistory

The conference was originally only planned as a meeting of delegates from the sea ​​colonies ( Nova Scotia , New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island ). Since it was assumed that Newfoundland had no interest in a possible merger, no delegates were invited from there. The UK government supported a "Maritime Union" in the hope that it would make the three colonies less dependent on mainland Britain. The region should also be strengthened economically and militarily in view of the current civil war in the United States bordering on the south .

Politicians from another colony, the Province of Canada (now the provinces of Ontario and Québec ), learned of the planned conference. They asked to be allowed to participate as well, in order to discuss an even wider merger. In August 1864, Newfoundland also asked to participate, but by then it was too late to change plans. Coincidentally, there was a circus in Charlottetown that the population showed far more interest in. It so happened that no one was working on the pier on Great George Street when the steamship SS Victoria arrived with delegates from the Province of Canada. William Henry Pope , a representative of the island, had to receive the guests alone and pick them up by rowing boat. The delegates from the Province of Canada stayed on the ship because the accommodations in the city were occupied by the circus and the rest of the conference participants.

negotiations

The conference room
Province House, the House of Parliament in Charlottetown

Most of the negotiations took place in Province House , the parliament building of the Prince Edward Island colony. For some festive occasions the delegates met in Government House , the official residence of the governor.

The conference began on Thursday September 1st with a banquet for all delegates. In fact, there were parties and banquets at the end of each negotiation day (except on Sunday September 4th, when no meetings were scheduled). The Province of Canada delegates clearly set the tone. They allayed the concerns of the representatives of the maritime provinces and presented their plans for a union from which everyone would benefit.

During the first five days of the negotiations, only the positions of the Province of Canada were discussed. The delegates from the sea colonies did not get to present their own union plans until September 6th and 7th. Delegate George Brown discussed the details of the proposed constitution for two days. Canada was to remain in the Empire , but would not be affected by the problems that had led to the war in the United States.

The sea colonies were ultimately convinced that a union with the Province of Canada would be advantageous for them and that this union could be completed within a few years - much faster than originally planned at the Maritime Union . The conference ended on Wednesday, September 7th without any concrete decisions, but the delegates agreed to meet again in October in the city of Québec (→ Québec Conference ). The delegates returned home after a ball on September 8th.

Attendees

New Brunswick

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

Canada Province

See also

Web links