Lord Knutsford on the topic of the loss of the use of the word kingdom, Macdonald said: He added as a postscript that it was adopted on the suggestion of British colonial ministers to avoid offending republican sensibilities in the United States: Use of the term dominion was formalized in 1867 through Canadian Confederation. In the Constitution of Canada, namely the Constitution Act, 1867 (British North America Acts), the preamble of the Act indicates: Moreover, section 2 indicates that the provinces: French terms The French translation of the 1867 British North America Act translated "One Dominion under the Name of Canada" as "" using Puissance ('power') as a translation for dominion. Later, the English loanword dominion was also used in French. The Fathers of Confederation met at the Quebec Conference of 1864 to discuss the terms of this new union. One issue on the agenda was to determine the Union's "feudal rank" (see Resolution 71 of the Quebec Conference, 1864). The candidates for the classification of this new union were: ('the Kingdom or Realm of Canada'), ('the Union of Canada'), and ('the Dominion of Canada'). Use of Dominion There are numerous references in United Kingdom Acts of Parliament to "the Dominion of Canada;" and the British North America Act, 1867 (BNA Act) referred to the formation of "one Dominion under the name of Canada." Section 4 of the BNA Act also declares that: "Unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, the Name Canada shall be taken to mean Canada as constituted under this Act;" this has been interpreted to mean that the title of the country is simply Canada. Nonetheless, the term "Dominion of Canada" appears in the Constitution Act, 1871—the usage of which was "sanctioned"—and both "Canada" and "Dominion of Canada" appear in other texts of the period, as well as on numerous Canadian banknotes before 1935. Until the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was commonly used to identify the country. As the country acquired political authority and autonomy from the United Kingdom, the federal government began using simply Canada on state documents. Quebec nationalist leaders also objected to dominion, arguing that it suggested Ottawa would have control over Quebec. Under Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent, compromises were reached that quietly, and without legislation, "Dominion" would be retired in official names and statements, usually replaced by "federal". The St. Laurent government thereby ended the practice of using "Dominion" in