John A. Macdonald

Macdonald attended the Charlottetown Conference as a leading figure from the Province of Canada. He helped persuade Maritime delegates to support a federal union of British North American colonies, laying the groundwork for Confederation.

Macdonald was appointed the first Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada following Confederation on July 1, 1867. He led a Conservative government and oversaw the expansion of the new nation from four provinces to a transcontinental dominion.

Macdonald introduced the National Policy, a system of protective tariffs on manufactured goods to shield Canadian industry from American competition. The policy also promoted western settlement through the railway and immigration.

Macdonald's government approved the contract to build the Canadian Pacific Railway, a transcontinental railway linking Eastern Canada to British Columbia. The project was completed in 1885, fulfilling a key condition for British Columbia's entry into Confederation.

Macdonald's government sent troops to suppress the North-West Rebellion led by Louis Riel in present-day Saskatchewan. The rebellion was crushed, and Riel was executed for treason, a decision that deepened French-English tensions in Canada.