1894 Colonial Conference
| 1894 Colonial Conference | |
|---|---|
| Host country |
 Canada |
| Dates | 28 June–9 July 1894 |
| Venue(s) |
Senate Chamber and Office of the Minister of Trade & Commerce |
| Cities | Ottawa |
| Participants | 9 governments |
| Chair |
Mackenzie Bowell (Canadian Minister of Trade and Commerce) |
| Follows | First Colonial Conference (1887) |
| Precedes | 1897 Colonial Conference |
| Key points | |
The Colonial Conference of 1894 was called by the government of Canada to continue discussion begun at the First Colonial Conference in 1887 on a proposal to lay a telegraph cable at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to create a communications link between Canada and Australasia and, by extension, to the rest of the British Empire as part of what became referred to as the All Red Line network of cables throughout the Empire.
The opening ceremonies were in the Senate Chamber in the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings but day-to-day meetings occurred in the offices of the Minister of Trade and Commerce.
The Earl of Jersey attended the conference as the representative of the British government and was instructed to listen and report back but not to make any commitments on behalf of the government.
All self-governing British colonies were invited to send delegates with the exception of Newfoundland Colony. Western Australia and Natal Colony did not send representatives due to domestic priorities. The colony of Fiji was also invited due to its geographical location on the proposed route of the cable but declined. Delegates were sent to the conference by Canada, New Zealand, the Australian self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria and the South African colony of Cape Colony. Unlike other colonial conference, the colonial delegates were cabinet ministers or legislators or government representatives rather than Prime Ministers.
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