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Since Canadian Confederation in 1867, there have been several proposals for new Canadian provinces and territories. Since 1982, the current Constitution of Canada requires an amendment ratified by seven provincial legislatures representing at least half of the national population for the creation of a new province while the creation of a new territory requires only an act of Parliament. Because opening up the constitution to amendment could entice provinces to demand other changes too in exchange for such support, this is seen to be a politically unfeasible option. The last new province, Newfoundland, was brought into the country in 1949 by an act of the British Parliament before the 1982 patriation of the constitution.
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Movements within Canada
There have been movements to redistrict existing land in order to create new provinces and territories within Canada. In late 2004, Prime Minister Paul Martin surprised some observers by expressing his personal support for all three territories gaining provincial status "eventually". He cited their importance to the country as a whole and the ongoing need to assert sovereignty in the Arctic, particularly as global warming could make that region more open to exploitation leading to more complex international waters disputes.
British overseas territories
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some Canadians felt that it would better serve the interests of the British Empire if Britain's colonies in the Americas were controlled from Canada. Thus Robert Borden and his delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 put pressure on British Prime Minister David Lloyd George to give most of the below territories to Canada as territories, sub-dominions, or League of Nations mandates, citing the concessions made to Billy Hughes' Australian delegation with regard to New Guinea (which was made a territory of Australia) and Nauru. Lloyd George declined. Since then, several British overseas territories have expressed occasional interest in joining Canada.
Former British overseas territories
Former British territories that have expressed interest in joining Canada: