July 3, 1867

If an army marches on its stomach, a government operates on its revenues.

So, on July 3, 1867, the new Dominion government continued to organize its financial affairs with the opening of bank accounts at the Bank of Montreal in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for the purposes of conducting their affairs in those provinces. Additionally, existing credits to the two former colonies were transferred to the Dominion, and tax collectors in the provinces were to remit their collections to the Dominion accounts as of July 1. Additional credits of $250,000 and $100,000 were to be paid into the accounts in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick respectively.

One of the conditions of Nova Scotia’s and New Brunswick’s entry into Confederation was a commitment from that the Dominion government would complete the Intercolonial Railway. To this end, Hon. William McDougall (Public Works) began the construction of Canada’s first national infrastructure project with the deployment of engineers to establish the location of that portion of the railway line running between Truro and Amherst, Nova Scotia. Sanford Fleming had been employed by the colonial government of Nova Scotia to conduct surveys and make recommendations for the line. The order from McDougall required that such decisions on the actual pathway of the rail line take into account “the cost of construction - cost of future working and management and also of general interest.” This first section of the Intercolonial Railway will be operational in November 1872.

Finally, in preparation for the upcoming Dominion elections, Edouard-Joseph Langevin was appointed Clerk of the Crown in Chancery. As outlined here, the holder of this office was responsible for the overseeing of elections and the publication of Senate and House journals. The office was abolished in 1920, with the creation of the role of Chief Election Officer.