Fathers of Confederation

The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown (23 attendees) and Quebec (33) Conferences in 1864 and the London Conference of 1866 (16) in England, preceding Canadian Confederation. The following lists the participants in the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London Conferences and their attendance at each stage.[1][2]

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A Canadian 3 cent stamp from 1917 based on Robert Harris's 1884 painting "Fathers of Confederation".

Four other individuals have been labelled as Fathers of Confederation. Hewitt Bernard, who was the recording secretary at the Charlottetown Conference, is considered by some to be a Father of Confederation.[3] The leaders most responsible for bringing three specific provinces into Confederation after 1867 are also referred to as Fathers of Confederation.[1] The provisional government established by Louis Riel ultimately negotiated the terms under which Manitoba entered the Canadian Confederation in 1870.[4] The leadership of Amor De Cosmos was instrumental both in bringing democracy to British Columbia and in bringing the province into Confederation in 1871.[5] The province of Newfoundland entered the Canadian Confederation in 1949 under the leadership of Joey Smallwood, who was then referred to as the "only living Father of Confederation".[6]

Of the 36 Fathers, 11 were Freemasons, notably Macdonald, but including Bernard, Campbell, Carter, Chandler, Galt, Gray, Haviland, Henry, Pope, and Tilley.[7]