September 2 is a crucial date – and one definitely worth celebrating – on Canada's political history calendar. It was on this date, in 1864, that the Charlottetown Conference got underway.  The stage had been set when the Maritime delegates had invited representatives from Canada East and Canada West to present their case for a pan-Canadian union at the Charlottetown Conference. The Upper and Lower Canadians, led by Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir George-Étienne Cartier and the often-under-appreciated George Brown, amongst others, had crashed the Maritime Union conference and everyone became caught up in the vision of a wider people and nation. At the conclusion of the conference the delegates moved over to Halifax where the discussions and parties continued. At a banquet there the soon-to-be first Prime Minister, Sir John A., left us a quote that I find inspiring each time I read it. So, I'll end my post with the words of Macdonald of Kingston.

"The question of 'Colonial Union' is one of such magnitude that it dwarfs every other question on this portion of the continent. It absorbs every idea as far as I am concerned. For twenty long years I have been dragging myself through the dreary waste of colonial politics. I thought then there was no end, nothing worthy of ambition, but now I see something which is well worthy of all I have suffered in the cause of my little country. This question has now assumed a position that demands and commands the attention of all the Colonies of British America. There may be obstructions, local difficulties may arise, disputes may occur, local jealousies may intervene, but it matters not – the wheel is now revolving, and we are only the fly on the wheel, we cannot delay it – the union of the colonies of British America, under one sovereign, is a fixed fact. (Cheers.)"