Canada A Country by Consent: Confederation: Leonard Tilley

Leonard Tilley

Leonard Tilley was a successful druggist in St. John, New Brunswick before he entered politics and eventually became premier of the province. Tilley was involved in railway expansion and favoured commercial union, and therefore, political union with the other British colonies. Tilley attended both the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 and the Quebec Conference and helped negotiate Confederation. Opposition to Confederation in New Brunswick was strong enough to defeat Tilley in an election in 1865, but the new government quickly lost the support of the people and Tilley and his party were re-elected the following year, in time for him to take his place as one of the Fathers of Confederation.

<< Prev: Alexander Galt

Next: Charles Tupper >>

Further Reference

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. Many of these main events are introduced by an audiovisual overview, enlivened by narration, sound effects and music.

This was the first digital, multimedia history of Canada. It started out as a laserdisc in 1993 and the CD-ROM version has been used in schools across the country. It has been approved as a curriculum-supporting resource by provincial and territorial ministries of education. This online, public domain site is the fifth edition of the project.