The convention debates continued for two years, all broadcast on the radio. Smallwood, a former journalist, union organizer and pig farmer, was a brilliant orator and he began to dominate the discussions and become the mouthpiece for confederation with Canada. He was part of a delegation that visited Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who saw the opportunity to become a latter day Father of Confederation.
But most men did, and at the National Convention on January 29, , the option of joining Canada wasn't even on the referendum; the only two options were independence or remaining under the rule of the British commission.
Smallwood drew up a petition, asking that Canada be added as a third option and got 50, signatures. On the June 3 referendum, it was included on the ballot. In the late s, a former pig farmer and radio broadcaster named Joey Smallwood helped convince Newfoundlanders to join Canadian confederation. Pictured here, Smallwood signing the confederation agreement in Ottawa, Dec.
During the referendum campaign, Smallwood flew from town to town in an old seaplane, tirelessly arguing the merits of joining Canada, and launched a newspaper, The Confederate that supported the cause. Smallwood was both the most and least popular man in Newfoundland, cheered and encouraged at one stop, threatened with violence at the next.
He hired two bodyguards and carried a gun. At a rally in St. John's, he escaped a mob by hanging onto the top of a car that drove him to safety. Newfoundland has regained more control over their own fishery and is reaping the rewards, now doing many of the things Iceland did when they left Denmark. What do you think? Were you or someone you know affected by the Newfoundland Cod Moratorium? If you were around during the vote to join Canada in would you have voted to join confederation or would you have preferred to see Newfoundland be its own country?
Post your opinion in the comments below. We want to hear from you. GDP per capita is about the same in both places. Per-capita debt is also about equivalent. I would have voted to stay my own country, and NOT connected to Canada.
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Located next to the east coast trail in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, just 30 min from downtown St. The Beothuk were destroyed by warfare and disease. Shawnadithit , the last of the Beothuk, died in By the mids, the European population of Newfoundland had reached , The colony was run by a British governor and an appointed council in the early s.
It received responsible government in Conference organizers had assumed Newfoundland was not interested in a wider union. It was here that the details of Confederation were ironed out. See Quebec Resolutions. Newfoundland politicians Ambrose Shea and Frederic B. Carter went to Quebec City as observers rather than as voting delegates.
They brought back positive impressions of Confederation, which were debated in the legislature in St.
In Newfoundland, public opinion toward Confederation was mixed. He warned of high taxes and conscription into Canadian wars. Despite his efforts, a pro-Confederation government won the Newfoundland election in However, the legislature also voted not to discuss the Quebec Resolutions. As a result, the colony did not send delegates to attend the London Conference. The pro-Confederation government remained in power after Encouraged by Musgrave, the legislature continued to consider Confederation.
By the summer of , a deal was close to being completed. But Bennet and his anti-confederation allies stepped up their attacks and ensured that public sentiment was on their side.
In the heated election of , the anti-Confederation side won a decisive victory. In the s, the colony suffered a bank crash.
But Canada offered less favourable financial terms than Newfoundland wanted, so no deal was reached. The leading Confederationist was a feisty broadcaster and labour leader, Joey Smallwood. After two plebiscite: a direct vote by the qualified voters of a country, province, etc. At the time Newfoundland joined with Canada, the average income there was one-third of the Canadian average and the death rate associated with diseases of poverty was two to three times higher.
Smallwood promised reforms and the new province enjoyed the economic benefits of hydro-electric projects, foreign investment, injections of federal money and improvements in the educational system. Some of the promised gains were never delivered, though, and not all the changes were welcomed.
Modernization took its toll on the unique culture of the outport: a small community on the coast of Newfoundland usually accessible only by boat. A Country by Consent is a national history of Canada which studies the major political events that have shaped the country, presented in a cohesive, chronological narrative.
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