How many of us can imagine how the very first Dominion Day, or Canada’s birth of a nation, back on July 1, 1867 was celebrated? I know I was surprized! The broadsheet newspaper “Pembroke Observer” only mentioned – not even front-page news – that the local non-excitement celebration attended by 25-30 people was a nice low-key picnic for the Town of Pembroke at Morrison Island on July 1st
In 1982, the House of Commons, with only 13 parliamentarians sitting, passed the Private Members Bill C-201 that changed the name of the July 1st national holiday from “Dominion Day” to “Canada Day”. The whole process took five minutes.
Heading into the long weekend, consider the quintessentially Canadian conundrum that is the July 1st national holiday. In Newfoundland and Labrador, it shares a date with Memorial Day, which was established long before the province joined Confederation, and honours “the bloodiest day in Newfoundland history”, July 1, 1916, when the Newfoundland Regiment “was wiped out on the battlefield of Beaumont-Hamel France during the Battle of the Somme.” In Quebec, it’s Moving Day for the tens of thousands of renters whose leases expire on July 1.
The Dominion of Canada wasn’t born out of revolution, or a sweeping outburst of nationalism. Rather, it was created in a series of conferences and orderly negotiations, culminating in the terms of Confederation on July 1st, 1867. The union of the British North American colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada was the first step in a slow but steady nation-building exercise that would come to encompass other territories and eventually fulfill the dream of a country from sea to sea.
But it didn’t happen easily. In 1864, half the cabinet of the Canadian government boarded the steamer Queen Victoria at Quebec to intercede the representatives of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI meeting in Charlottetown to discuss their own Maritime union. The government of Upper and Lower Canada was gripped in deadlock realizing some new political arrangement was needed.
The vessel “dropped anchor magnificently in Charlottetown harbour,” Brown wrote. He hoped that the locals would be suitably impressed by their “big brothers from Canada,” – instead there was neglect and indifference. In fact, the town was abuzz but not for any political conference. People were arriving from all over the Island to see the circus, which was making its first appearance in 20 years. The welcoming committee consisted of one local member of the PEI legislature, W.H. Pope, who rowed out breathlessly to greet the Canadians.
It was an awkward beginning but hospitality won the day as the Maritime delegates allowed the Canadians to present their plan. The Canadians were elated and asked, “Why not create a union of all the British colonies?” The Canadian point man the next day was John A. Macdonald who was earnest and persuasive. He pleased the delegates with his knowledge of British history and told them to avoid the tragic flaw in the American system, which had led to Civil War. He proposed a federation that would feature a strong central government while preserving the local identities of the separate colonies. For historian Peter Waite, the beginning of Confederation could be precisely dated. “It happened when the Canadians began pouring champagne aboard the Queen Victoria.” The colonies called a second meeting and at the Québec Conference, the delegates passed 72 Resolutions, which explicitly laid out the fundamental decisions made at Charlottetown, including a constitutional framework for a new country. The resolutions were deliberately different from the revolutionary nature of the American Constitution drafted a century earlier.
Back to the July 5th copy of the Observer. It was published by J.M. Walker every Friday since 1855. A year’s subscription cost $1.00 in advance for the 4-page, 6 column newspaper. The print was so small, it was fortunate that I had cataracts removed a couple of years ago. A half-column advertisement was $20 for 6 months. 3-1/2 columns of page one was Chapter XXVI of a mystery novel. Today we download an entire book onto our Kindle. There was a story about lost mummies by Scientific America. They would have been better off to stay lost!
There were Requisitions with hundreds of names vouching for three candidates to represent North Renfrew in the first Commons, taking a full 4-columns of space. There were plenty of ads for local businesses and Council reports from Horton and Ross townships. An item by a French surgeon proved “that soldiers wearing beards are less likely to have a disease of the eyes.” An Ottawa Cancer Infirmary advertised a speedy and painless cancer cure without the use of the knife. What in the world has happened since then: they say that now 80 percent of us over 50 will get or have cancer – and probably need the knife!
In electrifying contrast to 1867, all cities and communities will be celebrating Canada Day 150. Ottawa for instance, will be inviting the world to a series of world class cultural events. Classy entertainment and fireworks are two activities planed for a crowd of one million or more, twice as many for Canada Day last year. In the venue of celebrating the birth of Canada, we have come a long long way.
