Canada After Dark: a very short historical novel

Dateline Quebec City, October 27, 1864

Outside the rain and wind continued unabated. Inside the thirty-three delegates to the Quebec Conference were comfortable, enjoying excellent French cuisine and feeling good about their work over the past several weeks. Their backgrounds were uncannily similar, including politics, law and business. All but three were born outside of North America and all were white males.

Their task was to forge an agreement, uniting five jurisdictions including New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Canada West and Canada East into a single country. Early on, a successful outcome seemed unlikely. However, quite unexpectedly, a draft document resulted, containing seventy-two sections that captured the essence of the proposed new Dominion of Canada. William Henry commented, “never was there an opportunity as now for the birth of a nation”.

Informality allowed for a wide range of topics. Alexander Galt spoke for equally-minded representatives, pointing to the lack of representation from the native population. While it was widely acknowledged that the impact of nation-building on their ways of life would be profound, no reference appeared in the draft document. Hector-Louis Langevin mumbled something to the effect that assimilation is a worthy practice to follow.

Oliver Mowat posed questions. With a governance structure in place, what will the flesh on this skeleton of confederation look like decades ahead? What will describe the substance of this new community called Canada? What will define the nature of this joining of two diverse cultures? What words will characterize Canada’s soul?

George Brown reflected on the coming transportation revolution. Train travel was already well-past infancy. Lines were under construction and many planned. They will be a binding force, uniting the country from coast to coast. Edward Whelan offered the same analysis for water transport. Steam-powered vessels of all shapes and sizes are moving passengers and cargo everywhere.

Equally impactful is  the revolution in communications. John-Charles Chapais observed telegraphing is expanding at a rate such that all parts of North America will be in instant contact. He went on to say that using Alexander Bell’s recent invention of the telephone is leading the communications revolution.

George-Etienne Cartier stated emphatically that the core of nation-building will be generated by commerce, business and industry. He reminded the attendees that these are the pillars that had been and will  remain the principle amalgamating forces.

Over to Charles Tupper. Stating the obvious, Tupper said governments will exert a huge influence on the nation. The formative structure contemplated two levels: one federal and one provincial. Their jobs will be different but complementary. Revenue-generation and sharing is important in the draft document. As a start, the federal government is to be the collector of most revenue, which is to be allocated to the provinces based on population. There is little evidence, but perhaps some delegates may have had an equalization scheme in mind.

That last words belong to John A. Macdonald. He wondered what outcomes will result, well beyond the hard facts of business, industry, commerce, transportation. communications and government. He mused that a strong community  will come with experiences to test the mettle of all Canadians … that the bonding of people through community will be a force of unlimited strength. He spoke with great passion about a country that will embrace plurality, a country that will give all citizens a sense of belonging, a country that will value inclusion and in which Canadians are connected with one another. John A. also spoke about reconciling differences that will certainly occur because nation-building is no easy job and mistakes would be made.

All agreed that a deal is imminent, hopefully by mid 1867. They retired to their quarters to prepare for the huge job ahead.