1 jul 1873 año - PEI Joins Confederation

Descripción:

PEI, although one of the attendees in both the Charlottetown & Québec conferences, did not join Confederation alongside the province of Canada and the 2 other Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia & New Brunswick) in 1867. PEI had only attended the Charlottetown Conference in 1864 because they were interested in a Maritime colony with Nova Scotia & New Brunswick, but when a contingent from the Province of Canada turned the discussion into one about a union of all the British North America colonies, PEI wasn't too interested. They did not think that Confederation had much to offer for them, they didn't need anything from the other colonies. Their economy was flourishing, and they had strong trade relations with the other Atlantic colonies and some American states. Most of all, they thought that their voice would be insignificant in the new united Parliament, as they already had a strong identity and in the BNA union they would just be another province. Although PEI was not very attracted by what Confederation had to offer for them, they still wanted to consider the possibility. Therefore they decided to send a delegate to the next Confederation conference, The Québec Conference in October of 1864. There was not a strong argument for PEI to join Confederation at the conference, so James Pope, the premier of PEI, decided to turn down the offer in 1866. Most of the newspapers in PEI also thought that this was a good idea. They thought that if PEI was to join the union, there would be increased taxation for the citizens of PEI, compulsory enlistment for wars, and that the union would end their legislature. When the Reciprocity Agreement between PEI and the US expired in 1866, officials from PEI planned to meet with the Americans officials in order to discuss the next step, but the British stopped them so that they could not negotiate an agreement with the US. The Dominion of Canada was afraid about what would happen if the ties between PEI and the US became stronger, so they presented PEi with a new offer to join Confederation in 1869. This deal was called "Better Terms", and included Canada taking care of PEI's debts, a steam ship service so that PEI could trade with whomever they wanted to in the rest of Canada, and $800,000 for purchasing absentee landlord holdings. PEI's premier, Robert Haythorne, declined their offer in 1870. 1 year later in 1871, PEI was building a railway so that they could improve their economy and boost tourism, but they grossly overspent their budget, and began to collect debt. in 1872, PEI was knee-deep in debt and the colony was risking economic collapse because of the railway project. The Island had to choose between 2 options, increase taxes in order to pay for the railway, or join Confederation. PEI decided that they would finally take up Canada on their offer to join Confederation, so Premier Haythorne visited Ottawa to discuss Confederation terms in February of 1873. When a general election was conducted on the Island, Haythorne lost to James Pope, another Confederation supporter. James Pope had decided on better terms for Confederation, and when he presented them to the legislature, they were approved. Canada did most of what they had offered to do for PEI in 1869 when they decided on the "Better Terms" deal. They assumed the Island's railway debt, they bought some land from absentee landlords, and they also agreed upon keeping a communication link all year round with PEI. On July 1 of 1873, PEI finally joined Confederation, and there was a celebration in Charlottetown with decorations and a ceremony.

Añadido al timeline:

fecha: