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 included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...

join the

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () 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 Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

. 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 ...

on Confederation. The party was opposed by the

Responsible Government League The Responsible Government League was a political movement in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Responsible Government League of Newfoundland, led by Peter Cashin, was formed in February 1947 by anti-Confederation delegates to the Newfoundland Na ...

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 ...

and the

Party for Economic Union with the United States The Economic Union Party (EUP, formally the Party for Economic Union with the United States) was a political party formed in the Dominion of Newfoundland on 20 March 1948, during the first referendum campaign on the future of the country. The Briti ...

led by Chesley A. Crosbie. 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 br ...

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 The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is one of the three parties currently represented in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly, and one of two t ...

References

See also