each colony. There was the Canadian pound, used in Upper and Lower Canada, and then the Province of Canada; the New Brunswick pound; the Newfoundland pound; the Nova Scotian pound; and the Prince Edward Island pound. They were all gradually replaced with decimal systems of currency linked to the US and Spanish dollars. Province of Canada pound, 1841 Following the union, the Province of Canada adopted a new system based on the Halifax rating. The provincial legislation set exchange rates for a new Canadian pound: one pound, four shillings and four pence Canadian was equal to one pound sterling. Described the other way, the new Canadian pound was worth sixteen shillings, five and three-tenths pence sterling. The legislation also set the rate for the new Canadian pound against the US dollar, setting the legal tender value of the American gold eagle at two pounds, ten shillings Canadian (i.e. the Canadian pound was worth four US dollars). The legislation also set the exchange rates for the Canadian pound against the French franc, the old Spanish, Mexican and Chilean doubloons, and other Latin American currencies. British currency, US gold and silver coins, and Spanish dollars were all considered legal tender. Movement towards the dollar and decimal currency Throughout the 1850s, the imperial and colonial governments debated the issue of colonial currency. The imperial government favoured a system where all colonies used currency based on sterling, which could be either British currency or local colonial currency tied to sterling, including a decimalised currency. The colonial governments increasingly favoured a decimal monetary system based on the United States dollar, because of the practical implications of the increasing trade with the neighbouring United States. In June 1851, representatives of the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia met in Toronto to discuss the introduction of a joint decimal currency. The Government in London agreed in principle to a decimal coinage but held out the hope that the colonies would adopt a sterling unit under the name 'Royal'. Province of Canada Following the 1851 conference, the government of the Province of Canada under the leadership of Co-Premier Francis Hincks began to move towards decimal currency. The provincial Parliament passed an act to introduce a pound sterling unit in conjunction with decimal fractional coinage. The idea was that the fractional values would correspond to exact values of fractions of the US dollar. The Preamble to the