July 1, 1867: the birth of Canada

Happy July – and happy birthday to what Homer Simpson calls America, Junior! On this day in 1867, Great Britain established the federal dominion of Canada.

The Dominion of Canada initially had four provinces: Ontario and Quebec (formerly collectively known as the Province of Canada), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia (New Scotland).

Canada would purchase most of the land within its present-day borders in 1870: two areas then known as Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territories. These were previously owned by the Hudson Bay Company.

Canada received full patriation from Great Britain on March 29, 1982, but its initial establishment still gets the big celebration. Today, it has 10 provinces:

5. Manitoba (1870)
6. British Columbia (1871)
7. Prince Edward Island (1873)
8-9. Alberta & Saskatchewan (1905)
10. Newfoundland and Labrador (1949)

…and 3 territories, all of which are above 60 degrees North latitude:
1. Northwest Territories (1870)
2. Yukon (1898)
3. Nunavut (1999)

For more, visit the official Canada Day website.

CORRECTIONS: Two of my Canadian fans pointed out a couple of problems with my original post. I apologize profusely for the confusion (insert Canadian joke here).

First, I had Manitoba and Alberta flipped in the order above; also, Saskatchewan and Alberta were made provinces simultaneously, not consecutively (much like North & South Dakota). Thanks to David Kendall there.

Second, the Constitution Act was known originally as the British North America Act; it was renamed post facto in 1982, and only to Canadians. Thanks to Dean McGee for pointing that out. (That was more of a space issue for the image, but still worth noting.)

Image: excerpt of 1870 map from William Mackenzie’s Gallery of Geography. via hipkiss.org