The London Conference was held in London, in the United Kingdom, in 1866. It was the third and final in a series of conferences that led to Canadian Confederation in 1867. Sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick gathered to set out the final outline of the proposed Canadian Confederation, resulting in the British North America Act, 1867 (now the Constitution Act, 1867).
Upon the conclusion of the discussions by the delegates, the British government directed that a bill be drafted to implement the resolutions of the Conference. Introduced in 1867, the British North America Act, 1867 was passed by both Houses of Parliament and then received royal assent from Queen Victoria on March 29, 1867. It was proclaimed in force on July 1, 1867, creating the Dominion of Canada.
The London Conference began on December 4, 1866.[1] It was a continuation of the Quebec Conference held in 1864, which had produced the Quebec Resolutions. The conference was held at the Westminster Palace Hotel, just across the street from the British Parliament buildings. John A. Macdonald was the chairman of the conference.
Delegatesedit
In 1866, the Province of Canada was composed of Canada East (now Quebec), and Canada West (now Ontario). The Province of Canada sent a total of six delegates, but for the purposes of the Conference, they were treated as two separate delegations.
One of the major issues when the Conference opened was the proposed Inter-Colonial Railway linking the Province of Canada to the Maritimes. This issue was quickly resolved when Macdonald stated that the Province of Canada agreed that the obligation to build the railway should be included in the legislation.
Structure of the Senateedit
The composition of the proposed Senate continued to be a major issue, with a suggestion from the British government that the Senate be elected, not appointed.
Denominational schoolsedit
A major issue of contention was the education system, with Roman Catholic bishops lobbying for guarantees protecting the separate school system. This was opposed by delegates from the Maritimes, and the compromise reached was Section 93 of the act, which guaranteed separate school systems in Quebec and Ontario but not in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.
^Andrew McIntosh and P.B. Waite, "London Conference", Canadian Encyclopedia, February 7, 2006; updated by Edward Butts and Andrew McIntosh, February 4, 2020.
Further readingedit
Bliss, Michael (1975). Confederation, 1867: The Creation of the Dominion of Canada. New York: Watts. ISBN978-0-531-02173-6.
london, conference, 1866, this, 2022, november, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, this, 2022, november, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspap. This 2022 November needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this 2022 November Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources London Conference of 1866 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The London Conference was held in London in the United Kingdom in 1866 It was the third and final in a series of conferences that led to Canadian Confederation in 1867 Sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada Nova Scotia and New Brunswick gathered to set out the final outline of the proposed Canadian Confederation resulting in the British North America Act 1867 now the Constitution Act 1867 Upon the conclusion of the discussions by the delegates the British government directed that a bill be drafted to implement the resolutions of the Conference Introduced in 1867 the British North America Act 1867 was passed by both Houses of Parliament and then received royal assent from Queen Victoria on March 29 1867 It was proclaimed in force on July 1 1867 creating the Dominion of Canada Contents 1 The Conference 2 Delegates 2 1 Canada East 2 2 Canada West 2 3 New Brunswick 2 4 Nova Scotia 3 Major issues 3 1 Inter colonial railway 3 2 Structure of the Senate 3 3 Denominational schools 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksThe Conference edit nbsp Delegates meeting in the Westminster Palace HotelThe London Conference began on December 4 1866 1 It was a continuation of the Quebec Conference held in 1864 which had produced the Quebec Resolutions The conference was held at the Westminster Palace Hotel just across the street from the British Parliament buildings John A Macdonald was the chairman of the conference Delegates editIn 1866 the Province of Canada was composed of Canada East now Quebec and Canada West now Ontario The Province of Canada sent a total of six delegates but for the purposes of the Conference they were treated as two separate delegations Canada East edit Canada East sent three delegates George Etienne Cartier Alexander Tilloch Galt and Hector Louis Langevin Canada West edit Canada West sent three delegates William Pearce Howland John A Macdonald and William McDougall New Brunswick edit New Brunswick sent five delegates Charles Fisher John Mercer Johnson Peter Mitchell Samuel Leonard Tilley and Robert Duncan Wilmot Nova Scotia edit Nova Scotia sent five delegates Adams George Archibald William Alexander Henry Jonathan McCully John William Ritchie and Charles Tupper Major issues editInter colonial railway edit One of the major issues when the Conference opened was the proposed Inter Colonial Railway linking the Province of Canada to the Maritimes This issue was quickly resolved when Macdonald stated that the Province of Canada agreed that the obligation to build the railway should be included in the legislation Structure of the Senate edit The composition of the proposed Senate continued to be a major issue with a suggestion from the British government that the Senate be elected not appointed Denominational schools edit A major issue of contention was the education system with Roman Catholic bishops lobbying for guarantees protecting the separate school system This was opposed by delegates from the Maritimes and the compromise reached was Section 93 of the act which guaranteed separate school systems in Quebec and Ontario but not in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick See also editCharlottetown Conference 1864 Quebec Conference 1864 Anti Confederation PartyReferences edit Andrew McIntosh and P B Waite London Conference Canadian Encyclopedia February 7 2006 updated by Edward Butts and Andrew McIntosh February 4 2020 Further reading editBliss Michael 1975 Confederation 1867 The Creation of the Dominion of Canada New York Watts ISBN 978 0 531 02173 6 Creighton Donald Grant 1964 The Road to Confederation The Emergence of Canada 1863 1867 Toronto Macmillan ISBN 978 0 7705 0070 2 Moore Christopher 1997 1867 How the Fathers Made a Deal Toronto McClelland amp Stewart ISBN 978 0 7710 6094 6 External links editCanadian Confederation The London Conference December 1866 March 1867 at Library and Archives Canada Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title London Conference of 1866 amp oldid 1176406136, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
