Canada's Constitution Act, 1867 Quiz

Answer:

Though Canada's Constitution Act, 1867, contains ten parts (and the preamble), this early and formative document gets its point across as early as the first passages, indicating the foundational clauses that formed Canada as a nation during its Confederation. Originally it was called the British North America Act, 1867, but British North America went by the wayside when this was finally established. The document wouldn't be renamed for more than a hundred years, and in the meantime, Canada would still have affiliation with Britain, at least from a ceremonial point of view, for quite some time after.

It was this document that established the national and provincial government structure for Canada as a whole, but also designated the first four provinces-- Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on the Atlantic Coast, and what would become Quebec and Ontario. At the time, these latter two provinces were known as the singular 'Province of Canada', having united Canada East and Canada West...which themselves were Lower and Upper Canada at a time (even though the 'Upper' section was further south. Trust me, as a Canadian it was confusing). By this point, as well, the Canadian capital had moved from Kingston to York (eventually known as Toronto) and then to Ottawa. Parliament Hill had actually started construction there before these documents were drafted.

It would be only three years before more regions were added to Canada. Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, both key regions for trade, joined the nation in 1870. The United Colony of British Columbia joined a year after this after the promise of a railway.

The Act came into effect on July 1, 1867. That day would, from that point, be known as Dominion Day in the nation. We now know it as Canada Day.