The Charlottetown Conference

The Charlottetown conference (1–9 Sept. 1864) proved to be the first of the three conferences that resulted in confederation in 1867. Although the Maritime representatives had gathered to discuss a regional union, many had a broader union in mind. As Phillip Buckner notes in his biography of Charles TUPPER, when the Canadians arrived with their proposal for confederation, they were “preaching to the converted.” Among those who were easily converted was John Hamilton GRAY (1811–87) of Prince Edward Island:

“When the Charlottetown conference convened on 1 Sept. 1864, Gray, as premier of the host colony, was selected chairman. The conference was dominated by the persuasive delegates from Canada, and Gray, along with the rest of the Maritime delegates, appears to have been satisfied for the most part merely to listen to the arguments for a general British North American union. He needed little convincing, and by the time the conference ended he had become an ardent supporter of the scheme.”