The Confederate Association was a political party formed and led by

Joey Smallwood Joseph Roberts Smallwood (December 24, 1900 – December 17, 1991) was a Newfoundlander and Canadian politician. He was the main force who brought the Dominion of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation in 1949, becoming the first premier of ...

and Gordon Bradley to advocate that the

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Wes ...

join the

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...

. The party was formed on February 21, 1948 prior to the launch of the

1948 Newfoundland referendums The Newfoundland referendums of 1948 were a series of two referendums to decide the political future of the Dominion of Newfoundland. Before the referendums, Newfoundland was in debt and went through several delegations to determine whether the co ...

on Confederation. The party was opposed by the Responsible Government League led by

Peter Cashin Major Peter John Cashin (March 8, 1890 – May 21, 1977) was a businessman, soldier and politician in Newfoundland. Early life Cashin, a son of Sir Michael Cashin, joined the Newfoundland Regiment during World War I and ultimately served in the B ...

and the Party for Economic Union with the United States led by

Chesley A. Crosbie Chesley Arthur "Ches" Crosbie (November 4, 1905 – December 26, 1962) was a Newfoundland businessman and politician. Early life Crosbie belonged to a prominent St. John's family involved in hotels, fish exporting, insurance, shipping and manufac ...

. Two referendums were held as the result of the first vote in which three options were considered, Confederation,

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bra ...

or a continuation of the

Commission of Government The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the Great Depression, it was dissolved when the dominion became ...

. The first referendum, held on June 3, 1948 saw the Confederation option receive 41.1% support compared with 44.6% support for responsible government and 14.3% support for Commission of Government. The anti-Confederate forces were hampered by the split of the opposition into Crosbie and Cashin's parties with relations between the two being tense and the overall opposition lacking unity or organization. The Confederate Association, in contrast, was better funded and better organized. A second vote was held on July 22 with only Confederation and Responsible Government on the ballot in which the Confederates won with 52.3% of the vote. Following the referendums, the Confederate Association reorganized itself as the Newfoundland Liberal Party.

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