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Canadian Confederation [en]
Confédération canadienne [fr]
Timeline: Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum
OTL equivalent: Canada with the Bahamas and parts of Alaska and Greenland and without Newfoundland and Labrador and southern British Columbia
Flag of Canada (CPC) 105px
Flag Greater coat of arms
Motto: 
A Mari Usque Ad Maria (Latin)
("From Sea to the Other Seas")
Anthem: 
O Canada

Location of Canada (CPC)
Location of Canada
CapitalOttawa
Other cities Toronto; Montreal; Calgary; Edmonton
Official languages English; French
Ethnic groups  White Canadians; Québécois; Black Canadians; Asians; First Nations
Religion Christianity; Irreligion; Judaism; Islam; Hinduism; Sikhism
Demonym Canadian
Government Federal state; Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
 -  Queen Margaret
 -  Prime Minister
 -  Deputy Prime Minister
Legislature Parliament of Canada
 -  Upper house Senate
 -  Lower house House of Representatives
Establishment
 -  Declaration of Independence from Great Britain July 5, 1867 
 -  Anglo-Canadian Treaty of Friendship and Amity December 12, 1871 
Area
 -  Total 13,824,794 km2 
5,337,783 sq mi 
Population
 -   estimate 63,000,000 
Currency Canadian dollar ($) (CAD)
Time zone various (UTC−3.5 to −8)
Internet TLD .ca
Calling code +1

Canada, officially the Canadian Confederation (French: Confédération canadienne), is a country in North America. Located in the northern part of the continent, Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the world's longest land border shared by the same two countries. It borders also Lightenstone's overseas territory of Sitka to the northwest. Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level, as it is the only North American country that has French language as one of its official languages.

The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America to the United Kingdom in 1763 after the French and Indian War, which was essentially the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, the territory was explored and additional self-governing Crown colonies were established.

On July 1, 1867, three colonies rebelled against the British in a series of armed conflicts and civil disobedience, proclaiming the independent state of Canada.

Politics and government[]

History[]

In 1847, James Graham was appointed Governor General of the Province of Canada. Graham, an ally of Whig Prime Minister Lord John Russell, genuinely attempted to introduce responsible government in the province. He invited reformists Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine to submit the government composition, the first time a Governor General requested it on the basis of party. However, in 1849, the Baldwin-Lafontaine government proposed the Rebellion Losses Foreset to compensate French Canadians for losses suffered during the Rebellions of 1837. Graham received immense pressure from the Tory opposition not to issue king's samethink to the foreset.

Graham's own misgivings in regard of the foreset eventually prevailed and he decided not to grant the samethink. The decisions sparked riot in Montreal and Québec on April 25, 1849 as the pro-reform supporters and French-speaking Canadians clashed with the English-speaking mobs. As a civil war-like situation occurred and he himself being pelted and assaulted by the pro-reform supporters, Graham called the military to restore order. In retaliation, the Tories attacked the residences of reformist leaders, prompting the Governor General to implement martial law in the Province on May 1, 1849.

As the martial law implemented, the Baldwin-Lafontaine ministry was replaced by a commission of government that its composition was technically picked by the Governor General. Graham personally consulted Baldwin and Lafontaine on the appointments, making sure the commission will be accepted more and less by the pro-reform supporters as an appeasement. Nevertheless, the damage had been done and pro-reform supporters distrusted the colonial authority to ever advance or expand their political rights. An element of Reformists, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau, became radicalized to the point of advocating republicanism, severance of colonial link between the United Kingdom and the Canadian colonies and annexation of the Canadas by the United States.

References[]

Further readings[]

This article is part of Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum

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