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The British North American Act of 1867
The British North American Act of 1867
The British North America Act (BNA) came into effect on July 1, 1867. This Act joined together four British colonies in North America: New Brunswick, Canada East, Canada West, and Nova Scotia. These colonies created a new country named Canada. Canada East and West were divided up again into smaller areas called Ontario and Québec. The BNA Act was the Constitution of this new country. Sir John A. MacDonald was the first Prime Minister of Canada.
The newly-created Dominion of Canada became a self-governing country. Later, several other provinces were formed as Canada bought Rupert’s Land. These provinces were eventually created: Manitoba in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1873, Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905, and Newfoundland 1949.
This Act created two branches of the federal government, and outlined what was a federal or a provincial responsibility. The federal government was responsible for things that were for the whole country (i.e. criminal law, the postal system and the military) The provinces could police their own civil laws, manage their own educational system and collect taxes. Sometimes, because of this division of power, conflict can occur. When issues arise, the federal government will make the final decision in the best interest of the whole country.
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