... in the end, there were 12 ministries in fifteen years, 2 elections and 4 more ministries between the years 1861 and 1864. This eventually led to the Great Coalition. George Brown entered the Great Coalition with Macdonald and Cartier. Together, they formed a strong new government to make confederation possible in Canada. For a long-time, the British North America colonies received benefits from the mercantilist system. The mercantilist system helped the economic expansion of the colonies. The British's preference for Canadian flour in the 1840's led to many investments in mills. When Britain traded less and less with Canada because of the free trade, Canada's economy went into a great depression, Canadian goods and raw materials had to compete in the open market. With low profits and a shrinking market, many things such as railways and timber trades came to a stop. The Reciprocal Treaty between Canada and United States ...

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