The Fragile Birth of a Nation

When the Dominion of Canada was born on July 1, 1867, it emerged as a precarious experiment in nationhood. The British North America Act had united the colonies of Canada (divided into Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, but this new federation faced immediate challenges to its survival. The vision of a transcontinental nation stretching “from sea to sea” seemed audacious for a collection of colonies with fewer than 3.5 million people scattered across eastern North America.

The architects of Confederation, particularly Sir John A. Macdonald, understood that mere political union would not guarantee national survival. The United States, fresh from its Civil War and experiencing rapid westward expansion, loomed as both an economic magnet and potential threat. Nova Scotia’s anti-Confederation movement, led by Joseph Howe, nearly tore the young country apart within its first year. Howe’s 1868 mission to London seeking Nova Scotia’s withdrawal from the Dominion highlighted the fragility of the new political arrangement.

Securing the Atlantic Anchor

The Atlantic colonies presented the first critical test for Canadian unity. Nova Scotia’s discontent stemmed from genuine economic grievances – the new federal tariffs increased prices for imported necessities while the region’s fisheries languished. The contrast with post-Civil War American prosperity made annexation appeals dangerously attractive to struggling Maritimers.

Macdonald’s government employed both financial incentives and political maneuvering to stabilize the situation. The key lay in implementing the British North America Act’s subsidy provisions, increasing financial assistance to struggling eastern provinces that had surrendered most taxing powers to the federal government. By offering Nova Scotia additional subsidies and bringing Joseph Howe into the federal cabinet, Macdonald neutralized the separatist threat by 1869.

The strategy of “carrots” extended to other Atlantic colonies:
– New Brunswick’s condition for joining – making Saint John the Atlantic terminus of an intercolonial railway – was incorporated into the BNA Act
– Prince Edward Island received promises of railway connections and ferry service, joining in 1873
– The Intercolonial Railway, completed by 1876, physically bound the Atlantic provinces to central Canada

The Western Gambit: Purchasing a Continent

While stabilizing the east, Macdonald turned to an even more ambitious western expansion. The British North America Act envisioned Canada stretching to the Pacific, but this required acquiring the vast Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company. This territory, encompassing much of modern Canada from Ontario westward, faced its own American annexation threats.

The 1869 purchase of Rupert’s Land for $1.5 million (about 45 cents per square mile) ranks among history’s greatest real estate transactions. The negotiation process revealed tensions:
– Hudson’s Bay Company initially demanded $4,000 million, citing the $7.2 million Alaska purchase as comparison
– British pressure facilitated the bargain price
– The transfer included 1/20 of fertile lands around trading posts rather than the requested 1/10

Renaming the territory the Northwest Territories, Canada established direct federal control, postponing provincial status until settlement warranted it. The Dominion Lands Act (1872) and Northwest Territories Act (1875) created frameworks for western development that would shape Canada’s growth for decades.

Pacific Dreams and Railway Schemes

With the Northwest secured, attention turned to British Columbia on the Pacific coast. The 1871 negotiations for BC’s entry into Confederation showcased Macdonald’s vision. When BC representatives requested only a wagon road, Canadian negotiator George-Étienne Cartier famously countered: “What use would a wagon road be? It would be useless in winter and incredibly slow even in summer. Why not ask for a railway?”

The resulting terms were staggering for a nation of 3.5 million people:
– Construction of a transcontinental railway within 10 years
– BC would receive federal subsidies
– The railway would connect to the Pacific within two years of union

This promise, fulfilled by the 1885 completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, became the steel spine of Canadian nationhood. The railway’s political importance was underscored during the 1885 North-West Rebellion, when it enabled rapid troop movements to suppress Métis resistance.

The Métis Resistance and the Birth of Manitoba

The western expansion encountered its most significant challenge from the Red River Métis, led by Louis Riel. The Métis, of mixed Indigenous and European (primarily French) ancestry, had developed distinct communities and cultural practices over generations in the Red River Valley (modern Winnipeg).

Riel’s 1869-70 Red River Resistance emerged from legitimate grievances:
– No consultation about the Rupert’s Land transfer
– Surveyors disrupting traditional river-lot farming patterns
– Fear of being overwhelmed by Anglophone settlers

The resolution created Canada’s “postage stamp province” of Manitoba in 1870, incorporating key Métis demands:
– Bilingual status (French and English)
– Separate Catholic and Protestant school systems
– Protection of existing land holdings

However, the execution of Orangeman Thomas Scott by Riel’s provisional government created lasting Anglo-Protestant resentment, foreshadowing Riel’s controversial 1885 rebellion and execution.

The National Policy: Economic Foundations for a Continent

Macdonald’s vision extended beyond political union to economic integration. His National Policy, fully implemented after 1878, rested on three pillars:

1. Protective Tariffs (25% on manufactured goods) to:
– Shield emerging Canadian industries
– Generate government revenue (77% of federal income by 1900)
– Encourage foreign companies to establish Canadian operations

2. Western Settlement through:
– The Dominion Lands Act (160 acres for $10)
– Aggressive immigration promotion
– Agricultural development of the prairies

3. Transcontinental Railways to:
– Bind the country physically
– Transport settlers west and goods east
– Assert Canadian sovereignty

The policy showed mixed immediate results but laid foundations for 20th century growth. By 1885, despite a national population under 4.3 million, Canada had achieved its transcontinental vision – a feat that took the U.S. fifty years with ten times the population.

Industrialization and the Canadian Century

The late 19th century saw Canada’s industrial revolution accelerate under National Policy protections. Key developments included:
– Manufacturing growth from 22% of GNP (1870) to challenging agriculture’s dominance
– Emergence of industrial centers in Montreal and Toronto
– Creation of national corporations like Dominion Textile
– Technological adoption in agriculture and resource extraction

Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier’s 1896-1911 administration capitalized on these foundations, declaring the “20th century would belong to Canada.” The wheat boom, mining discoveries, and massive infrastructure investments fulfilled this prophecy, with industrialization completing during the World Wars when Canada became a crucial Allied supplier.

Legacy of the Founders’ Vision

Canada’s rapid expansion from 1867-1885 established patterns that endure:
– Federal-provincial financial arrangements born from Atlantic resistance
– Bilingualism and minority rights precedents set by Manitoba’s creation
– Transportation infrastructure as nation-building tools
– Balanced development between regions and sectors

The bold decisions of Macdonald’s generation transformed a collection of colonies into a transcontinental nation within a generation. Their vision of unity amid diversity, east-west economic integration, and balanced development between regions continues to shape Canadian identity and policy debates today. The “from sea to sea” aspiration, once an improbable dream, became geographic and political reality through a combination of vision, compromise, and determination that defines Canada’s unique path to nationhood.