The Political Deadlock In The Province Of Canada
The political deadlock in the province of Canada was because no government lasted long enough to give the colony political stability. The leader of the liberals ( George Brown) tried to break the political deadlock by recognizing the greater population of Canada West in the electoral system. In 1863, he agreed to work with John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier, Macdonald's partner from Canada East, to make major changes. Which lead to the Great Coalition. The political deadlock started in 1854 and ended in 1864. In the period after the acceptance of the principle of responsible government, governments in Canada were very short-lived and insecure. Between 1854 and 1864, there were 10 different governments and no government lasted long enough to give the colony political stability. Why ? The political system produced several equal groupings in the assembly, and the political instability which developed led to political deadlock (a situation where no one can move or win in government) which paved the way to Confederation.
The Double Shuffle
The Double Shuffle was a sign of how government was working in Canada in the years of the 1860's. Getting bills and new laws passing through the assembly was close to impossible. People that were apart of the government and the opposition in the Canadian assembly were nearly even in number. Since they naturally voted against each other it was very hard to win. It was very even with a tie of votes. This means that the Grits would disagree to what the Tories wanted and so on . This means no work could be done or laws could be made.