Right up until the very last days before Confederation was enshrined in legislation in the British Parliament, there was still disagreement about what the new country would be called. The most popular title among all the representatives of the Colonies, as well as the Imperial Government, was The Kingdom of Canada. Everyone believed that it was important to emphasise the continuing links with the British Empire, and the new country’s identity as a part of that loyalist tradition.
However, it was finally decided that such a name would be objectionable to the Americans. The strains of the Civil War remained a major element in the relations between the United States and the new Canada. There had been threats of invasion made by the victorious Northern Forces in retaliation for the Canadians’ support of the Confederate States.
Therefore, the name of the new nation would not be The Kingdom, but the Dominion of Canada.
