History from the podium
George-Étienne Cartier, born into a Quebec family, came to believe that the rights and culture of the French could best be protected within a Canadian federation. He gave this speech in Montreal in October 1866.
The British were embarrassed by a rebellion against their colonial administration in Lower Canada (now Quebec) in 1837. Lord Durham was sent to Canada to study the situation and he decided assimilation of the French Canadians was the best solution. He proposed a single government for Upper and Lower Canada, which would have only English... Continue Reading →
George Brown was the founder and editor of the Toronto Globe and leader of the Reform Party. Brown was a fierce opponent of John A Macdonald and the Conservatives and he advocated free trade and representation by population. Brown also believed that any close union with Lower Canada (Quebec) was an obstacle to the future... Continue Reading →
Dorion led the Parti Rouge (Liberals) in the 1850s and he had served with George Brown in a short-lived government. Early in 1865 representatives from the United Province of Canada (today’s Quebec and Ontario) met to decide if they would proceed with a federation that had been negotiated to include the English colonies in Atlantic Canada.... Continue Reading →
In 1864, the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland planned to meet in Charlottetown to investigate a union among the British Maritime colonies. John A Macdonald and other representatives from Upper and Lower Canada invited themselves to the meeting and arrived by steamship. They proposed a wider union which would include... Continue Reading →
Thomas D’Arcy McGee was one of the great pre-Confederation orators. This speech was delivered three years prior to conferences in Charlottetown and Quebec City, which negotiated the details of Confederation. McGee called for the creation of a new Canadian nationality. His remarks then are worth revisiting now in the wake of Donald Trump's lunatic rumblings about Canada becoming the fifty-first U.S. state.
Great Canadian Speeches 