What was the dominion of Canada?

Answer 1

When the British Parliament passed the Act of Union (1840), it created the pre-Confederation "Province of Canada." That name was specifically used in the Act and the term "Province" was part of the name of the new colony.

Since it was created on July 1, 1867, however, Canada has been Canada. Nothing more and nothing less.

The word "dominion" was never part of Canada's name. It was merely a term of description. Section 3 of the the British North America Act refers to "one dominion under the name of Canada" but nowhere in the Act does it refer to "the dominion of Canada."

Answer 2

The following answer is wrong: The original of title of Canada, was to be the "Kingdom of Canada". Our first Prime Minister of Canada who was Sir John. A MacDonald wished for our new nation to be called the Kingdom of Canada. However, during the American revolution, the monarch did not want to offend the Americans by the name, so they officially declared Canada as a dominion country but under British rule. The Dominion of Canada. (During the American revolution the king would have been happy to offend the Americans since they were at war. But the events of the American Revolution happened almost 100 years before Canada became independent in 1867)

Actually, the name "dominion" comes from the King James Bible verse "and they shall have dominion from sea to sea". This verse is also referred to in the motto to the Canadian coat of arms, "ad mare usque a mare" which means "from sea to sea". The word "dominion" meant "independent country" and was unique to Canada, the official name of which was "The Dominion of Canada" (Australia and New Zealand never were never officially called "dominions"; Australia is a "commonwealth").

Answer 3

At the time of Canada's Confederation, July 1, 1867, the four original provinces were Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario.

The boundaries of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are unchanged. Quebec and Ontario, on the other hand, have had their boundaries enlarged considerably.

Immediately prior to Confederation, there was a British Colony by the name of Canada. The British North America Act, which created today's Canada, divided the Colony of Canada into the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario. About 25 years before Confederation they had been separate colonies, known as Lower Canada (which became Quebec) and Upper Canada (which became Ontario). The boundary between Lower Canada and Upper Canada was the Ottawa River, except for a seigneury or two on the west side where the Ottawa River flows into the St Lawrence.

To the south, of course, was (and still is) the United States of America. To the north was the territory known as Rupert's Land, the proprietory colony owned and governed by the Hudson's Bay Company. The boundary of Rupert's Land was the height-of-land that defined the Hudson Bay watershed. That height-of-land was, for the most part, also the northern boundary of the colonies of Lower Canada and Upper Canada. The other boundary was the height of land between Newfoundland's northern territory (Labrador) and Lower Canada.

A few years after Confederation, Rupert's Land was transferred from Britain to Canada. (The exact date was July 15, 1870, which is also the date the Province of Manitoba was created.) Later, the Government of Canada added portions of Rupert's Land to both Quebec and Ontario, making them into the provinces they are today. One exception to the last statement is that the boundary between Quebec and Labrador has been adjusted and is, to this day, disputed by Quebec.

Therefore, the original boundaries of Canada were: the border shared with the United States of America, the height-of-land shared with Rupert's Land, the height-of-land shared with Labrador, and the sea.

Answer 4

Canada was created by the British North America Act, thereby becoming the first country to be created by legislation.

The word "dominion" was never part of Canada's name. In the 1860s, many words were capitalized that are not capitalized any longer. It was a matter of style. The word "dominion" was one of those words.

In section 3 of the Act contains the clause, "... shall form and be One Dominion under the Name of Canada." (The capitalized words are as they appear in the Act.) The context is clear that the word "dominion" was merely a descriptive term and not part of Canada's name.

Answer 5

Canada officially became a country on July 1, 1867. The term "Dominion" is simply a historical reference to Section 3 of the British North America Act: "one dominion under the name of Canada". Canada was never known officially as "The Dominion of Canada". It found its way into popular venues such as paper currency and school maps. However, on Canadian bills it was meant as "The Dominion Under Canada" and on school maps as "The Queen'sDominion of Canada". It is difficult to say when it stopped being used as it was never really a true title. However, after independent Canadian citizenship was created in 1947 the word "dominion" quickly began to fall out of favour with the public. However, if one really needed to pin down a specific date for the fazing out of the term "dominion" it would be November 8, 1951. On this date, Prime Minister Louis St.Laurent stated in the House of Commons "I can say at once that it is the policy of this government when statutes come up for review or consolidating to replace the word 'dominion' with the word 'Canada.'''.

Answer 6

That is was a Confederation of Nations, many of them former Colonies of Britain, some colonies of Canada. This is why the Provinces of today have resource and cultural rights.