The Charlottetown Conference, held in Charlottetown, Prince…

The Charlottetown Conference, held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from the colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation, takes place between September 1 and 9, 1864.

The conference was originally planned as a meeting between representatives from the Maritime colonies only: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

Newfoundland agreed with the movement, but had not been notified in time to take part in the proceedings.

Britain has encouraged a Maritime Union between these colonies, hoping that they will then become less economically and politically dependent on the Crown, as well as provide for greater economic and military power for the region in light of the ongoing American Civil War.

However another colony, the Province of Canada (modern Ontario and Quebec), had heard news of the planned conference and had asked that the agenda be expanded to discuss a union that would also include them.

Newfoundland had also requested to be able to attend the conference in August 1864, but by then it was too late to change the plans.

Coincidentally, there is a circus in Charlottetown at the same time, which is much more interesting to the majority of the population.

There is no one working at the public wharf at the foot of Great George Street when the Canadian delegates arrives on the steamship SS Victoria, so Prince Edward Island representative William Henry Pope has to handle receptions by himself, including rowing out to greet the new arrivals.

The Canadian delegates stay each night on board the SS Queen Victoria as the circus and the Maritime delegates have taken up most of the accommodations in town.

Most of the Maritimes are convinced that a wider union including the Province of Canada would also be beneficial to them; Prince Edward Island is unsure, however, and very much against confederation.

They also believe that this union could be achieved within a few years, rather than in an undefined period in the future as they had originally planned.

The conference had concluded on Wednesday, September 7, but the representatives agreed to meet again the next month in Quebec City.

A ball is also held on September 8, after which the delegates return home.