Canada's Government After the Constitution Act of 1867 Reprint of the second and final edition. The British North American Act of 1867, known later as the Constitution Act, organized the Canadian colonies into the Dominion of Canada and defined the framework of its government. First published in 1879, O'Sullivan's was the first study of this new political system. A historically significant work, it is also valuable today for its insights into the early years of the modern Canadian government, which eventually lead Canada to independence in 1982. xix, 344 pp.