Jonathan McCully

My most recent article in the Canadian Encyclopedia discusses Jonathan McCully, one of the Fathers of Canadian Confederation from the Province of Nova Scotia.

Jonathan McCully was a strong advocate of Confederation in the Nova Scotia press from 1864 to 1867, writing pro-Confederation editorials for the Halifax Morning Chronicle and Unionist and Halifax Journal. He attended the Charlottetown Conference and the Québec Conferenceas part of the Liberal delegation from Nova Scotia. After Confederation, McCully became a senator and a judge of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

Click here to read my article on Jonathan McCully in the Canadian Encyclopedia

Thomas Heath Haviland

I have contributed an article to the Canadian Encyclopedia about Thomas Heath Haviland, one of the Fathers of Canadian Confederation from Prince Edward Island.

Thomas Heath Haviland was member of one of Prince Edward Island’s most prominent families under the “Family Compact” system that preceded responsible government. He favoured Confederation as a means to protect British North America against political and military encroachment from the United States. He attended the Québec Conference in 1864 and helped negotiate Prince Edward Island’s entry into Confederation in 1873.

Click here to read my article on Thomas Heath Haviland in the Canadian Encyclopedia

Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley

I have revised and expanded the Canadian Encyclopedia article on Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, the most influential of the Fathers of Confederation from New Brunswick.

Tilley was a strong supporter of both Confederation and the construction of the Intercolonial Railway. He is believed to have suggested the name “Dominion of Canada” for the new country. He was a member of Sir John A. Macdonald’s first government before he was appointed lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick. In contrast to a number of the other Fathers of Confederation, he favoured Prohibition.

Click here to read the article on Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley in the Canadian Encyclopedia

John Hamilton Gray of New Brunswick

I have revised and expanded the Canadian Encyclopedia article on John Hamilton Gray, one of the Fathers of Confederation from New Brunswick. (Not be confused with another Father of Confederation with the exact same name from Prince Edward Island).

John Hamilton Gray served in the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, in the Canadian House of Commons and on the British Columbia Supreme Court. Remembered as a Father of Confederation, he was a very early proponent of British North American union and attended the Charlottetown and Québec Conferences. Gray was one of the few 19th-century public figures to oppose the discriminatory taxation and exclusion of Chinese immigration to Canada.

Click here to read the article on John Hamilton Gray in the Canadian Encyclopedia

Peter Mitchell

I have revised and expanded the Canadian Encyclopedia article on Peter Mitchell, Premier of New Brunswick at the time of Canada’s Confederation in 1867. Mitchell was one of the most colourful characters in 19th century Canadian politics. He distributed rum to electors on the campaign trail, determined the route of the Intercolonial railway by “force of character” and caused an international incident as Prime Minister John A. Macdonald’s minister of Marine and Fisheries by apprehending American fishermen in Canadian waters.

Click here to read the article on Peter Mitchell in the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Andrew Archibald Macdonald

My latest article in the Canadian Encyclopedia is about Andrew Archibald Macdonald, one of the Fathers of Canadian Confederation from Prince Edward Island. Macdonald was one of the Prince Edward Island delegates to the Charlottetown and Québec Conferences that preceded Confederation. Though initially opposed to a federal union, Macdonald changed his mind after the Island faced bankruptcy from its railway debt. He thereafter supported Prince Edward Island’s entry into Confederation, as Canada’s seventh province in 1873. Macdonald outlived all of the Fathers of Confederation except Sir Charles Tupper and wrote extensively about his experiences at the Confederation conferences in the last decade of his life.

Click here to read the article on Andrew Archibald Macdonald in the Canadian Encyclopedia