Recognition of Charlottetown as the Birthplace of Confederation Act
| Recognition of Charlottetown as the Birthplace of Confederation Act | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliament of Canada | |
| |
| Citation | S.C. 2017, c. 30 |
| Considered by | Senate of Canada |
| Considered by | House of Commons of Canada |
| Assented to | 2017-12-12 |
| Legislative history | |
| First chamber: Senate of Canada | |
| Bill citation | Bill S-236 |
| Introduced by | Diane Griffin |
| First reading | 2017-02-15 |
| Second reading | 2017-02-28 |
| Considered in committee | 2017-06-13 |
| Third reading | 2017-06-21 |
| Second chamber: House of Commons of Canada | |
| Member(s) in charge | Wayne Easter |
| First reading | 2017-09-18 |
| Second reading | 2017-11-06 |
| Considered in committee | 2017-11-27 |
| Third reading | 2017-12-11 |
| Status: In force | |
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The Recognition of Charlottetown as the Birthplace of Confederation Act (French: Loi reconnaissant Charlottetown comme le berceau de la Confédération) is an act of the Parliament of Canada which declared that Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island was the "birthplace" of the Confederation of Canada, in recognition of the Charlottetown Conference.
Background
According to Edward MacDonald, University of Prince Edward Island historian, New Brunswick's lieutenant-governor, Hamilton-Gordon, was the first to propose a confederation of only maritime provinces.[1] They met because the colonial office in Britain had wanted them to meet.[2]
Despite the Charlottetown Conference in 1864, Prince Edward Island did not join the Confederation in 1867, when New Brunswick did.[1] Prince Edward Island did join the Confederation in 1873.[1]
Prince Edward Island license plates feature the phrase "Birthplace of Confederation".[3] According to McDonald, the PEI government first this claim in 1914.[4]
The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island passed the Birthplace of Confederation Act in 1988.[5]
In January 2017, the New Brunswick government revealed that its slogan relating to celebrations for Canada's "150th birthday" - referred to as "Canada 150".[6]
Legislative passage
By February 2017, a PEI senator, Diane Griffin, and a Malpeque MP, Wayne Easter, had both introduced private member's bills to recognize Charlottetown as the "birthplace" of the Confederation.[7][8] Wayne Easter's bill was Bill C-253.[9] Similar bills were introduced by Sean Casey in 2015 and by George Proud many years before this.[10][11] Griffin said that there was more than a decade of evidence to substantiate the claim that Chatlottetown was the birthplace of Confederation.[12]
Senator Paul McIntrye successfully tabled amendments to the bill, so that the preamble was changed to mention the London conference and Quebec Conference with McIntyre saying, "Could not Confederation be described as having taken place in a number of places and over a number of years, bearing in mind the three conferences that were held in Charlottetown, Quebec and London."[13][14]
Wayne Easter was in charge of the bill in the House of Commons.[8] The legislation was supported by Egmont MP Robert Morrissey and Gatineau, Que., Liberal MP Steven MacKinnon also spoke in support of the bill.[8]
Reception
The act was supported by Edward MacDonald, who described it as important in teaching the history of Canada.[7] MacDonald refuted the suggestion that Prince Edward Island could not have been the birthplace if it only joined in 1873 in 1867, by saying that "Charlottetown is the birthplace, not the province of Prince Edward Island".[3] MacDonald also said that 2023, 150 years after Prince Edward Island joined, was a "good moment" to reflect on the country's "colonial past".[3]
References
- ^ a b c "Nice try, says P.E.I. to N.B. over controversial new slogan". CBC News. February 20, 2017. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ "The Road to Confederation". CBC Radio. July 1, 2017. Archived from the original on May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ a b c Campbell, Meagan (February 24, 2017). "Canada's fight over 'where it all began'". Maclean's. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ "Champagne in Charlottetown: PEI and the Road to Confederation". The Walrus. March 12, 2024. Archived from the original on March 27, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ Birthplace of Confederation Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. B-3.1
- ^ Poitras, Jacques (January 5, 2017). "Began ... In This Place? Confusion over province's Canada 150 slogan". CBC News. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ a b Bissett, Kevin (February 23, 2017). "P.E.I. politicians seek to end any debate over where Confederation began". CityNews Toronto. Archived from the original on May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ a b c Brun, Stephen (December 11, 2017). "Bill recognizing Charlottetown as birthplace of Confederation passes third reading". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ "Bill C-253 (Historical) | openparliament.ca". openparliament.ca. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ "Bill C-659 (Historical) | openparliament.ca". openparliament.ca. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ MacDonald, Mitch (November 7, 2017). "Bill recognizing Charlottetown as official birthplace passes second reading". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ "Forget New Brunswick, P.E.I. politicians seek to end any debate over where Confederation began". National Post. February 23, 2017. Archived from the original on May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ "Bill declaring Charlottetown as birthplace of Confederation proceeds through Senate". CBC News. June 9, 2017. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ "Committee approves bill recognizing Charlottetown as Confederation birthplace". The Globe and Mail. June 8, 2017. Archived from the original on May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.