Mr. Chair, I'm free to speak about this motion. That's what I'll do.
The motion refers to the behaviour of a Conservative member of Parliament. My point is that Conservatives have always supported the Canadian identity, English and French.
John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, George‑Étienne Cartier and other politicians held a number of discussions before coming up with the charter, the country's governing framework. Without this agreement signed in 1864, first in Charlottetown and then in Quebec City, there wouldn't be any Canadian nation. Before John A. Macdonald was elected, both he and George‑Étienne Cartier wanted to create a nation.
At the time, there were a number of colonies. There were major issues in the British colonies. In those days, Quebec was a colony of Great Britain. In those days, there was a civil war in the United States. People were afraid that the Americans would force us to join the United States. This agreement and these negotiations were really important. I'll talk a bit more about this.
I'm a member of Parliament from British Columbia. I said this before, but I live near the first capital of British Columbia, Fort Langley, which was a colony. This colony was created in 1856, because people were afraid of the Americans.
At the time, the American president really wanted the border between the United States and Canada, which belonged to England, to go all the way to the 60th parallel. Major efforts were made to establish Canada's independence from the United States. This was important. Quebeckers and French‑Canadians remained in British colonies, because this allowed them to speak French and practise their religion, particularly Catholicism.
Just before Confederation, the small colonies faced both military and economic pressure. George‑Étienne Cartier, who led Quebec, and John A. Macdonald saw the need for Quebec in Confederation. Quebec had quite a large population. The total population of all the colonies was around 3.5 million at the time. Quebec's population was quite large and central. Quebec needed to become part of the new country of Canada. The concerns of these people, who were Conservatives, mirrored the concerns of the people of Quebec. They wanted to protect the French language and francophone culture, as well as the freedom to practise their religion. This was vital, since all the other colonies were English‑speaking and Protestant. The culture was different.
John A. Macdonald originally wanted a stronger and more centralized government. However, Quebec and the francophones wanted control over education, for example. This was really important to them. They decided to find accommodations. There was a federal government, but the provinces were strong. The accommodations were designed to protect the Canadian identity, especially French and Catholicism. That was really important. A compromise was reached, with a view to having a strong but decentralized nation. The provinces also needed to be given enough power. There are many other federations in the world, such as Australia and the United States. I could argue that the provinces of the Canadian federation have more power than in other parts of the world.
This was a concern. Even 150 years ago, francophones were already worried that their culture and language would be marginalized or swallowed up in a sea of English. Quebec and francophones had to be part of the country. It was vital for the national identity to ensure that francophones could participate in both Quebec and Canada as a whole. At the time, it was also decided that francophones could speak in French in Parliament and that anglophones could speak in English. Since the birth of our country, in 1867, people have had the right to speak in the language of their choice.
The member of Parliament was in the wrong. We've had this right and freedom since 1867. There have been issues, as in all countries. However, our country has been a democracy for a long time. I think that there are two other independent countries that have been around as long as Canada. These countries are the United States and Great Britain.
As anglophone or francophone Canadians, we have something really important to take pride in, and that's our Parliament. This shows that the accommodation made back then forms the basis of our country's multiculturalism.
Since Quebec's distinct identity is accommodated, multiculturalism serves as a policy foundation and embraces diversity across Canada. This is a key factor.
I think that we can draw a valuable link here. We conservatives have been here since the start, since the founding of our country. We support the anglophone and francophone identity within one Canada. The Liberals have also been here from the start. However, I'll let a Liberal member talk about Wilfrid Laurier.
So far, I've talked about the first Conservative prime minister. I would like to talk about another prime minister, Brian Mulroney. My colleagues may wonder about the connection with the motion, but—
