In mid-June 1864, the Province of Canada (Ontario and Quebec) was experiencing what contemporaries call ?political deadlock?: no political party could hold a majority in the Assembly. The past fifteen years had seen twelve different governments, and few important laws were passed. As a result, the ?Great Coalition? was formed, seeking to turn the Canadas into a federal union. That September, delegates from the three Maritime provinces prepared to discuss their potential union in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. With the addition of delegates representing the Canadas, however, the conference became the catalyst for the formation of the Dominion of Canada. The newest title in the Stories of Our Past series explores the political motives surrounding Confederation, with a focus on the pivotal role of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference. Highlighted with images, tables, and informative sidebars, The Charlottetown Conference is an accessible history of the birth of a nation.

History without the stiffness and polish time creates. Canada’s journey to Confederation kicked off with a bang — or rather, a circus, a civil war (the American one), a small fortune’s worth of champagne, and a lot of making love — in the old-fashioned sense. Miss Confederation offers a rare look back, through a woman’s eyes, at the men and events at the centre of this pivotal time in Canada’s history. Mercy Anne Coles, the daughter of PEI delegate George Coles, kept a diary of the social happenings and political manoeuvrings as they affected her and her desires. A unique historical document, her diary is now being published for the first time, offering a window into the events that led to Canada’s creation, from a point of view that has long been neglected.