It was the initiative of the Maritime Provinces that first created the concept of union. Leaders of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia had been discussing the possibility of a Maritime union for many years. Lieutenant Governor Arthur Hamilton Gordon and Leonard Tilley of New Brunswick, Premier Charles Tupper of Nova Scotia and Colonel Gray and W.H Pope of Prince Edward Island were all advocates of the concept of maritime union for solutions to the problems which they were encountering.2

Trade was important to the Maritimes. Up to 1846 Britain had provided the British North American colonies with a

In Nova Scotia the anti-Confederation movement was lead by Joseph Howe. Howe, a newspaper editor, was the best known politician in the Atlantic Region. He was genuinely concerned that Confederation would be disastrous to the region and he expressed these concerns, successfully reducing local support for the Confederation idea. :Yet the twelve' Botheration Scheme' articles, which ran from the 11th of January to the 2nd of March, did what only Howe could have done with such magical effectiveness. They roused Nova Scotia's local patriotism against the Quebec scheme."14 Premier Charles Tupper, a pro-Confederate, realized that convincing people of the benefits of Confederation would not be easy. Nova Scotia was reasonably prosperous and satisfied with their self-government. Recognizing the strength of the opposition and fearing the defeat for his government, Tupper hesitated to have the legislative vote on the Quebec resolutions. As a result he postponed an election.15

In December 1866 delegates from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Upper and Lower Canada met in London, England at a conference to draw up the final legislation that would make British North America a new nation. One politician, who was not particularly welcome in London, arrived. Joseph Howe went to investigate the idea of a possible Nova Scotian separation from Canada. Surprised by the solid British support for Confederation, Howe realized that the future of Nova Scotia was with Canada and having little personal choice in the matter he decided that his best move was to gain the best terms possible for Nova Scotia in a union with Canada. "The imperial tie", which Howe had defended throughout his long career, was about to be repudiated, not by the colonies, but by England itself."23

George Coles, a persistent politician, insisted that Prince Edward Island was not being provided with strong leadership, Gray was forced to drop the topic of Confederation. To the Islanders, a government dominated by Upper and Lower had little appeal. A colony as small as Prince Edward Island would have very few representatives in a federal government. They were not prepared to pay taxes to build an Intercolonial Railway, which could not run on their island. Islanders also opposed Confederation over the issue of absentee landlords. Their dislike of the landlords in Britain, they felt, would only be replaced by the dislike of landlords in Britain, they felt, would only be replaced by a dislike of a dislike of landlords in Ottawa. By 1865 Prince Edward Island had turned down the Confederation plan.

The British North America Act went into effect July 1st, 1867 creating a union known as the Dominion of Canada, but this did not complete the debate on the Confederation issue. Many Nova Scotians continued their opposition to the idea and it would take considerable time before all Nova Scotians would accept the fact of Confederation. "These Nova Scotians, disgruntled at their treatment by Great Britain, found that their loyalty had markedly diminished. The more they considered taking over the responsibility for their own affairs from England, however, the greater trust they had to place in Confederation."25 Confederation struck a balance between the rights of English and French speaking Canadians. Nevertheless, many divisions, conflicts, and debates would occur not only in Quebec but also in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick over this balance. Economic disparities between the Maritimes and the rest of Canada would also create many problems for the years following 1867. As a result, Confederation can be viewed as a beginning and not an end.

In New Brunswick, Leonard Tilley put renewed energy into gaining support for the idea of Confederation. Monies for his campaign came from Upper Canada, Britain, railway builders, and some private businessmen all hoping for monetary gain if Confederation would become a reality. In June of l866 Tilley and his Confederate supporters s

Some common words found in the essay are:
Nova Scotia, Lower Canada, George Brown, Intercolonial Railway, North American, Edward Island, Upper Canada, America Britain, North America, Scotia Brunswick, nova scotia, british north, prince edward island, prince edward, lower canada, upper lower, edward island, upper lower canada, upper canada, north america, north american, british north america, british north american, central government, brunswick nova scotia,
Approximate Word count = 3946
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)