Political deadlock in the Province of Canada (Canada East and Canada West) led to the cross-party Great Coalition, bringing together key leaders (including John A. Macdonald, George-Étienne Cartier, and George Brown) to pursue major constitutional change—opening the way to Confederation negotiations.
Delegates from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick convened in Charlottetown for a planned Maritime union meeting; representatives from the Province of Canada joined and successfully shifted discussions toward a broader federation of British North American colonies.
The Charlottetown meetings ended with delegates agreeing to continue detailed constitutional negotiations at a follow-up conference in Québec City, helping convert a general federation idea into a concrete drafting process.
Delegates met in Québec City to work out the structure of a proposed federal union, building directly on the Charlottetown discussions and moving toward a written constitutional framework.
The Québec Conference concluded by adopting the 72 Resolutions (Québec Resolutions), a detailed blueprint for Confederation that later served as the main basis for drafting the British North America Act.
In the February–March 1865 New Brunswick general election, anti-Confederation forces led by Albert James Smith formed the government, temporarily slowing Maritime momentum toward union.
The Legislature of the Province of Canada began extended public parliamentary debate over the proposed Confederation plan (the Québec Resolutions), helping frame the arguments for federal union and responsible government within the new structure.
After the American Civil War, the United States moved to terminate the 1854 Reciprocity Treaty affecting British North America. The loss of preferential trade is widely cited as one factor increasing support for intercolonial economic integration and political union.
Nova Scotia’s legislature authorized appointing delegates to represent provincial concerns in the proposed union, a key step toward formal participation in the final drafting negotiations in Britain.
A May–June 1866 election in New Brunswick produced a strong pro-Confederation majority, reversing the earlier anti-Confederation government and restoring momentum toward union with Canada and Nova Scotia.
Delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick met in London to revise the Québec Resolutions into legislative form, working with British officials to prepare a bill for the UK Parliament.
The UK Parliament’s British North America Act, 1867 received Royal Assent, legally establishing the framework for a new federal dominion and setting the stage for the union to come into force on 1 July 1867.
The British North America Act took effect, uniting the Province of Canada (as Ontario and Québec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into the Dominion of Canada—the constitutional foundation of Canadian Confederation.
Road to Confederation and the British North America Act (1864–1867)
