Under the crimson cloth: the story of Canada's Confederation Table: Canada's historic Confederation Table has returned to the province of Quebec for the first time in more than 100 years for a special exhibit--but its home is now Saskatchewan.

• Author: Bennett, Melissa K.
• Position: Sketches of Parliament and Parlamentarians Past

In 2014, after more than 100 years in Saskatchewan and 100 years in the Saskatchewan Legislative Library Reading Room, the historic Confederation Table made a long journey back to central Canada.

It was a grey but mild day in Regina on November 4, 2014. Inside the provincial Legislative Building, in the Library Reading Room, technicians carefully wrapped the renowned artifact for transportation across the country. Under the watchful eyes of custodians, options were considered for best carrying Canada's heavy and large Confederation Table from the second floor Reading Room into the fine art transport truck waiting outside.

The Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly Service had agreed to loan the Confederation Table for an exhibit at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, and historians and conservators at the Museum were eagerly awaiting its arrival. Once there, the table believed to have been used by the Fathers of Confederation at the Quebec Conference of October 1864, would take a place of honour in the exhibit 1867: Rebellion and Confederation.

The 1864 Quebec Conference setting was vividly described by newspapers of the day--the panoramic view from the windows of the second floor reading room of Parliament House in Quebec City, and the "long narrow table, covered with a crimson cloth and littered with stationery, statutes, pamphlets, and books of reference, [running] down the centre of the room, leaving just space enough at the sides for the chairs of the delegates." Over the course of the three week conference, 72 resolutions regarding the constitutional provisions of Canada's confederation--which laid the foundation for Canada's democratic system of government--would be negotiated around the table!

The Confederation Table is a golden-hued oak and basswood library or refectory table constructed circa 1837 to 1864 in a Victorian Gothic Revival style. Its rectangular top, originally almost 16 feet long, has drawers on each side and rounded corners. Its feet and trestle supports are carved with Gothic arches.

Accounts indicate that the Confederation Table was among the furnishings used by the Government in Quebec City when the Quebec Conference was held. Given its shape, size, and location, it is probable that it was, indeed, the table under the crimson cloth. After the Quebec Conference, the table was chosen to be the federal Government's Cabinet table and was transferred from Quebec City to Ottawa, where it was used for that...