The London Conference (below: Iconic painting of the London Conference)
The London Conference was considered the end of a long list of debates, speeches and conferences. It had the attendance of sixteen delegates from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Canada East and West. British Delegates were in attendance as well. Among many other things talked upon in the conference New Brunswick delegates were assured that the proposed railway would in fact be built through it and its major cities. They were assured of this through subsidies given for railway construction. A major point of controversy was that of Roman-Catholic leaders were insistent that Canada, like Great Britain should have a separate Catholic School Board. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were against this and it was settled that only Quebec and Ontario (Canada East and West, respectfully) would be required to have a separate school board for Catholics. The British North America Act was written and was essentially a revised version of the 72 resolutions which included some other things that were brought under speculation and concern by the delegates attending the conference. This Act was quickly rushed quickly through the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Finally, on May 22nd, 1867 Queen Victoria Confirmed through Royal proclamation that Canada was now, a country.