In the Maritime colonies, opposition to confederation was based largely on the fear that it would undercut their independence and undermine their economies [see Opposition to Confederation]. Prince Edward Island refused to join until 1873; in Newfoundland’s case it was 1949. In New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, there was considerable hostility to what Joseph HOWE called the “Botheration” scheme. Howe’s biographer sums up his concerns:
“His prophecy that it would take ‘the wisdom of Solomon and the energy and strategy of Frederick the Great’ to weld the disparate people of the proposed union into ‘a new nationality’ was not too far off the mark.”
