How Canada Achieved Its System of Responsible Government

The Fathers of Confederation at the Charlottetown Conference in September 1864, where they gathered to consider the union of the British North American Colonies. The achievement of responsible government in the Province of Canada was essential in bringing about the conditions necessary for Confederation in 1867. Public Domain

Commentary

Throughout human history there have been innumerable forms of government devised to bring order and law to societies. Empires, kingdoms, anarcho-syndicalist communes, soviets, emirates, oligarchies, theocracies, fascist dictatorships, people’s republics, federal republics, revolutionary triumvirates, tribal councils, colonial governments, military juntas, etc. But none have achieved the combination of social stability and popular participation that mark the history of the British parliamentary system of responsible government.