John A. Macdonald (1815-1891)

John A. Macdonald was born in Scotland and came to Canada as a young boy. He trained as a lawyer and had a practice in Kingston, Ontario. At first he took on difficult criminal cases, but later became the lawyer for financial institutions and corporations. He was also active in land development and speculation. In 1844 he entered provincial politics becoming a member of the Assembly of Canada West. He held the position of Provincial Secretary in the coalition government of 1864 and attended the Charlotte-town and Quebec Conferences emerging as leader of the movement for Confederation. He continued the tradition established by Baldwin and LaFontaine of governing through a French-English partnership in his alliance with George-Étienne Cartier.

Macdonald was conservative in politics, but expansionist in economics. He supported the new economy, the development of the railway and the opening up of the west. His dealings with the native people there showed that he was quite racist in his views. He became the first prime minister of Canada in 1867 and except for one term from 1874-1878, he served as prime minister until his death in 1891. Macdonald was known to be quite a drinker, favouring clear gin in his parliamentary water glass.

George-Étienne Cartier (1814-1873)

George-Étienne Cartier was born in Lower Canada and fought with the rebels in the Papineau uprising of 1837. He was Attorney General of Canada East from 1856-1862 and again in 1864 and he was also a member of the Assembly serving under LaFontaine. As leader of the Bleu party of Canada East, Cartier was part of the coalition of 1864 and joined John A. Macdonald in presenting the benefits of Confederation to the Charlottetown Conference later that year. Cartier was also the lawyer for the Grand Trunk Railway and helped set up its charter while he was in the government. He accepted large contributions to his campaign fund from railway promoter Hugh Allan and when this broke out as the Pacific Scandal in 1873 it led to the temporary downfall of the government and the end of Cartier’s career. He died the same year of illness.

George Brown (1818-1880)

George Brown was born in Scotland and emigrated to Canada when he was twenty. He founded a newspaper in Toronto called the Globe (which later joined with the Mail & Empire to become today’s Globe and Mail). The newspaper was very useful for promoting Brown’s political ideas and publishing information about the Northwest which he wanted Canada West to take over and develop. Brown was elected to the Assembly in 1851 and was a strong advocate of representation by population or rep by pop rather than equal representation for Canada East and West. (By 1851 English-speaking Canada West had the larger population and would have the majority in any combined Assembly. Brown was known for his anti-French views.) Brown broke the parliamentary deadlock in 1864 by crossing the floor and joining his long-time political opponent John A. Macdonald and the Liberal-Conservative coalition of Macdonald and Etienne Taché. He was a strong supporter of Confederation and spoke on constitutional issues at the Charlottetown Conference. Brown was shot in the leg by an ex-employee and died from infection in the wound.

Alexander Galt (1817-1893)

Alexander Galt was born in London, England and came to Canada in 1835 where he worked for the British American Land Company. He was a land agent in Lower Canada and became a large shareholder and eventually president of the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railway. When that was taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway, Galt became a member of the board of directors of that company. He was finance minister in the Macdonald-Cartier government of 1858 and was one of the negotiators of Confederation.

Leonard Tilley (1818-1896)

Leonard Tilley was a successful druggist in St. John, New Brunswick before he entered politics and eventually became premier of the province. Tilley was involved in railway expansion and favoured commercial union, and therefore, political union with the other British colonies.

Tilley attended both the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 and the Quebec Conference and helped negotiate Confederation. Opposition to Confederation in New Brunswick was strong enough to defeat Tilley in an election in 1865, but the new government quickly lost the support of the people and Tilley and his party were re-elected the following year, in time for him to take his place as one of the Fathers of Confederation.

Charles Tupper (1821-1915)

Charles Tupper was premier of Nova Scotia during the negotiations for Confederation. He attended the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences of 1864. Opposition to Confederation in Nova Scotia crossed party lines and was led by newspaper owner Joseph Howe, known as the father of responsible government in the province and an influential force there. Tupper knew he could not win an election on the issue of Confederation and urged the other colonial leaders to complete their union before he had to face an election in 1867.