The Fathers of Confederation envisioned an independent Canada with ties to Britain that spanned from sea to sea.

Key Confederation Issues

John A. Macdonald and George-Etienne Cartier wrote the British North America Act or BNA as a proposal to Britain for Canada’s independence. On July 1, 1867 the BNA was approved by Britain and Canada became a country. It wasn’t until years later that it would be the country we know today.

Explore this Confederation website for an organized and simplified explanation of key people, events, and issues.

1. Identify 5 issues that were resolved by Confederation.
   1. Explain how/why each was an issue.
   2. Explain how Confederation resolved each issue.
2. How did Confederation both include and exclude peoples of diverse cultural communities? Talk about who was included/excluded and why.
3. What idea of citizenship originally shaped Confederation? What were MacDonald and Cartier trying to achieve?
4. Which Confederation issues continue to be problematic to this day? Explain.