the bna act
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Building A Nation
British North America Act: Canada’s Constitution
![Page 2: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
The BNA Act
• Canada became a country when the British Parliament passed the British North America Act
• This process was in sharp contrast to the United States, which had declared itself a nation, fought a revolution, defeated the British, and formulated its own rules
![Page 3: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
The BNA Act
• The BNA Act was based upon the Seventy-Two Resolutions agreed to at the Quebec Conference
• Because of this, most of the BNA Act was written by Canadians, in Canada, and it became the constitution of the new Dominion
• The result of intense negotiations between equal partners, the BNA Act is full of compromise
![Page 4: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Division of Responsibilities
• The BNA Act defines the Canadian federation
• Canada has a federal, or national, government (the Parliament of Canada) and a government in each of the provinces
• Each level of government has different responsibilities
![Page 5: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Federal Responsibility
![Page 6: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Provincial Responsibility
![Page 7: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Municipal Responsibility
![Page 8: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
BC and Confederation
• After the Cariboo Gold Rush went bust, most of the 35,000 prospectors that had arrived in BC left the colony
• This rapid loss of population and revenue had a disastrous effect on the economy and governments of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
• British Columbia suffered the greatest financial losses, especially considering the large amount of money it spent on the Cariboo Road
![Page 9: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Gold Rush Bust
• After the Cariboo Gold Rush went bust, most of the 35,000 prospectors that had arrived in BC left the colony
• This rapid loss of population and revenue had a disastrous effect on the economy and governments of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
• British Columbia suffered the greatest financial losses, especially considering the large amount of money it spent on the Cariboo Road
![Page 10: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Union of the Colonies
• Elected representatives of both colonies began to lobby their respective governors for a union of the two colonies
• By 1866, the colony of Vancouver Island had debts totaling $300,000, and BC’s debt topped $1 million
• In May 1866, both colonies learned their credit with local banks had run out
![Page 11: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Union of the Colonies
• Britain agreed with the idea of a union, but was unwilling to provide financial subsidies to keep the colonies operating
• On August 6, 1866, the British government formally joined the two colonies together as British Columbia
• A new Legislative Council was established, with twenty-three members, only nine of which were elected
![Page 12: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Union of the Colonies
• Union of the two colonies did not solve their economic problems
• The population continued to decline, and the money problems only got worse
• It became obvious a more permanent solution was needed
![Page 13: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
BC and Confederation
• Like other colonies outside central Canada, BC had concerns about Confederation
• One group strongly supported the idea, another strongly opposed it, and a third group, composed mostly of Victoria business people, favoured annexation by the United States
![Page 14: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
BC and Confederation
• The elected representatives from the mainland all supported Confederation
• They adopted a series of resolutions which they forwarded to the government of Canada
• They asked Canada to become liable for BC’s debt, and for the government to build a transcontinental railway to link to BC with the east
![Page 15: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
BC and Confederation
• At first defeated in the Legislative Assembly, these ideas would eventually form the basis of BC’s terms of Confederation
• In Victoria, U.S. annexation proved to have little support
• In 1868, Anthony Musgrave, a personal friend of John A. Macdonald, became the new governor of BC
• He worked to get BC to join Canada as quickly as possible
![Page 16: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
BC Joins Canada
• The Canadian government agreed to virtually all of BC’s terms, including a promise to start work on a railroad within two years, to be completed in ten years
• In early 1871, the Legislative Assembly met to vote on Canada’s offer
• It was accepted after Governor Musgrave promised a wholly elected Legislature after Confederation
![Page 17: The BNA Act](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022052223/558d0590d8b42a4f668b45f2/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
BC Joins Canada
• With a promise of responsible government, the terms of Confederation were accepted unanimously
• On July 20, 1871, British Columbia joined Canada