identify the man who possessed the confidence of a Parliament that did not yet exist. Being chosen prime minister before Canada’s first election gave Macdonald and his Liberal-Conservative colleagues an enormous advantage that they did not fail to exploit.
In pre-Confederation days, the Province of Canada had been governed by co-leaders, a premier from one part and a deputy from the other. In choosing Macdonald, however, Governor General Lord Monck set a different course: “In future, it shall be distinctly understood that the position of First Minister shall be held by one person, who shall be responsible to the Governor General for the appointment of other ministers, and that the system of dual first ministers, which has hitherto prevailed, shall be put an end to.”
When John A. Macdonald was sworn in as Canada’s first prime minister on July 1, 1867, a national holiday was declared. But the slow and sometimes painful work of nation-building was only just beginning.
CHAPTER 2
FORGING A NATION
I am, as you may fancy, exceedingly desirous of carrying the elections again; not for any personal object, because I’m weary of the whole thing, but Confederation is only yet in the gristle, and it will require five years more before it hardens into bone.
The first Canadian federal election took place between August 7 and September 20, 1867 with a respectable voter turnout of 73.1 percent. Macdonald and his Liberal-Conservative party took 100 of the 180 seats, winning majorities in Ontario and Québec, but taking only 4 of 34 seats in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. New Brunswick went mostly Liberal, while Joseph Howe and his Anti-Confederate party won 18 of 19 seats in Nova Scotia. George Brown, unofficial leader of the Liberal party, lost in his constituency. The speech from the throne in Canada’s first Parliament was read by Governor General Lord Monck on November 7, 1867.
Prime Minister Macdonald took his new responsibilities in stride. Along the road to Confederation he had acquired a new wife. At the London Conference, Macdonald had a chance encounter with Susan Agnes Bernard, the sister of Hewitt Bernard, Macdonald’s deputy when he had been attorney general for Canada West. Agnes had been the object of Macdonald’s affections for some time. First promising Hewitt that he would reform his drinking habits, John A. Macdonald, fifty-two, and Agnes Bernard, thirty one, were wed at St. George’s Church in London on February 16, 1867, just six months before the election. His wife commented in her diary on how well her husband dealt with the election stress: “He can throw off the weight of business in a wonderfully short time. He has a good heart and amiable temper which are the great secrets of the success.”
Again in this election, Macdonald used his sense of humour to charm the voters and unsettle his opponents. He stood on a manure spreader to address a group of farmers and quipped, “This is the first time I’ve stood on a Liberal platform.” Accused of being drunk at another public event, Macdonald made no effort to hide his lack of sobriety, and added, “The people would prefer to see John A. drunk than my opponent sober.”
Macdonald’s first major challenge was to win the support of skeptical Nova Scotians for their new country. In the Nova Scotia provincial election, anti-Confederates won 36 out of 38 seats. In the early days of Confederation, the Halifax Legislature passed a series of resolutions calling for Nova Scotia to leave the Union, appointing Joseph Howe its chief negotiator. The maneuver was designed to incite Nova Scotians and give them hope their crusade would be successful. But Macdonald steadfastly refused to discuss dissolution of the Union. “[Dissolution], it seems to me, would be giving up the whole question.... If the Duke of Buckingham says at once to Howe and his confrères that they have nothing to hope for from the British government, I think the matter will end there; but if he should be weak enough to say— ‘you should give the system a fair trial for a year or two’—the consequence will be that the professional agitators will keep up the agitation for a year or two and then will return to the Colonial Office and plead their own factious course and its success as an evidence of the persistent refusal of the people to be incorporated in the Union.”
Macdonald was not overly worried however, and to demonstrate his positive intent, he himself introduced the bill that provided for the construction of the intercolonial railway linking the Maritime provinces with Ontario and Québec.
When Nova Scotia pressed for a Royal Commission of Inquiry on Confederation, the British government, at Macdonald’s request, rejected the idea. Eventually, Nova Scotia’s government decided to pursue “pecuniary concessions,” also known as “better terms.” On this point Macdonald was ready to negotiate.
When Howe released a series of letters to the public outlining the need for “better terms,” Macdonald wrote joyfully to Charles Tupper, “As you truly say, Howe has not only abandoned the ship repeal but has burnt the ship. Now everything depends upon the game being played properly.”
Macdonald’s game was to focus on Howe, rather than on the distant Nova Scotia government. He told Howe the glory was all his for negotiating a bet ter deal for Nova Scotia: “This you will see is a bold game. But ‘out of the nettle danger you will pluck the flower,’ . . . there is a glorious and patriotic game before you; let me urge you to play it.”
Negotiations with Howe began, not in Ottawa or Nova Scotia, but in Portland, Maine. The better terms for Nova Scotia provided that federal subsidies would be calculated on the same rate as New Brunswick’s. Macdonald’s strategy and patience worked brilliantly, punctuated by Howe joining his Cabinet in 1869. Howe relented after realizing that he could make no better deal with Canada and that the British government was indifferent to his pleas. Macdonald good-naturedly recalled that he had met Howe in the streets of London, England before Confederation, and joked, “Someday soon you will be one of us!” “Never! Never!” Howe replied, “You shall hang me first.” Ultimately, Macdonald not only brought Nova Scotia onside, but used Howe to negotiate the entry of Manitoba into Confederation.
Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a parliamentary colleague and a close friend, was also persuasive in bringing Howe and Nova Scotia to embrace Canada. Though McGee was not included in Macdonald’s Cabinet, there was a genuine fondness between the two, and Macdonald once joked with McGee that “This Government can’t afford two drunkards—and you’ve got to stop.” McGee had attended the Charlottetown and Québec City conferences and is one of the Fathers of Confederation. McGee’s outspokenness against Irish Republicanism and the Fenians caused Macdonald to warn McGee that his personal safety was at risk. After delivering an impassioned speech on national unity in the House of Commons on April 6, 1868, McGee returned to his rooming house on Sparks Street where he was shot and killed. Macdonald, woken with the shocking news in the middle of the night, was devastated and immediately rushed to the scene to be at his friend’s side. McGee was given a state funeral. Patrick James Whelan was convicted and hanged for the murder. He professed his innocence to the end, his final words being, “God save Ireland and God save my soul.”
Macdonald’s all-consuming passion for politics overwhelmed both his law practice and his need for financial security. He relied on his partners to produce income and was often on the brink financially, and professionally. Unexpectedly, in 1869 Macdonald was informed by the president of the Merchants’ Bank that his personal debt amounted to $79,500. A dollar then is the equivalent of about $30 today, which puts Macdonald’s burden at over $2 million. His $5,000 annual salary as prime minister would not even cover the interest on such a debt. In fairness, the debt was partly the consequence of the sudden death of his law partner, A.J. Macdonnell. Bankruptcy could have meant the end of his political career, however, and all manner of methods were used to raise funds, including Agnes placing a mortgage on the family’s house in Kingston. Macdonald’s friends took up a private subscription to ensure his debts were discharged and his family supported.
Agnes gave birth to a daughter, Mary, on February 8, 1869.The child was hydrocephalic (an abnormal increase of cerebrospinal fluid around the brain resulting in an enlarged head; a lifetime disability). Macdonald was devoted to Mary, and had a special second floor landing built in the family residence so Mary could hear the political discourse that took place in the dining room. In fact, Mary outlasted her parents, living into her sixties,