What is Confederation and how did it create Canada?

Confederation is the political union that created the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867 by joining the colonies of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The Province of Canada split that day into the new provinces of Ontario and Quebec, so the Dominion began with four provinces and Sir John A. Macdonald as its first Prime Minister. The British North America Act, now called the Constitution Act, 1867, was the founding statute.

The path to Confederation began at the Charlottetown Conference in September 1864, where delegates from the Maritime colonies and the Province of Canada agreed in principle on union. The Quebec Conference followed in October 1864, producing the 72 Resolutions, and the London Conference in late 1866 finalised the text. The British Parliament passed the BNA Act on March 29, 1867, and Queen Victoria gave Royal Assent the same day. The Fathers of Confederation included Macdonald, George-Étienne Cartier, George Brown, Charles Tupper, and Samuel Leonard Tilley.

Confederation gave Canada a federal structure with a Parliament in Ottawa and provincial legislatures, dividing powers under sections 91 and 92 of the BNA Act. Federal powers included defence, currency, criminal law, postal services, and trade. Provincial powers included education, hospitals, property and civil rights, and natural resources. The Senate was designed to provide regional representation in the federal Parliament.

The country expanded after 1867. Manitoba joined in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1873, Yukon in 1898, Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905, and Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949. Nunavut, the most recent territory, was created from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999. Each of these dates is celebrated locally, but July 1, 1867 remains the founding moment of Canada itself.