British North America Act

Background: The London Conference (December 1866 – March 1867)

Once New Brunswick and Nova Scotia had passed union resolutions in 1866 (the Province of Canada — later Ontario and Quebec — had already done so), it was time to meet to draft the text of the British North America Act. It was agreed that this meeting would take place in London. The Maritime delegates left for England on July 21, but for various reasons the Canadian delegation’s arrival was delayed until late November. The conference was much smaller than those at Charlottetown or Québec had been, consisting of sixteen members in all (from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada).

Choosing “Canada” as the new country’s name was relatively easy, as was the choice of “Ontario” and “Quebec” for the two halves of the Province of Canada. However, difficulties arose in choosing a designation. The delegates wished it to be a kingdom; the British feared that such a title would anger the United States, and denied the request. An alternative, “Dominion,” was suggested by Samuel Leonard Tilley, from a line in Psalm 72 of the Bible: “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.”

The delegates had a completed text for the bill by the first week of February 1867. It was submitted to the Queen on February 11, and read in the House of Lords for the first time the following day. Proceedings were relatively uneventful: the bill passed through its first, second, and third readings in the House of Lords during the month of February. The three readings in the House of Commons were also swift, completed within two weeks with very little debate. The British North America Act received the Royal Assent on March 29, 1867.

Further Reading

Creighton, Donald. — John A. Macdonald : the young politician, the old chieftain. — Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1998. — 524, 630 p.
Creighton, Donald. — The road to Confederation : the emergence of Canada, 1863-1867. — Toronto : Macmillan of Canada, 1964. — 489 p.
Moore, Christopher. — 1867 : how the Fathers made a deal. — Toronto : McClelland & Stewart Canada, 1997. — 279 p.
Waite, P. B. — The life and times of Confederation, 1864-1867 : politics, newspapers, and the union of British North America. — 2nd ed., with corrections. — Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1962. — 379 p.

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This entry was last updated: February 15, 2017