View source for Province of Canada

{{Short description|British possession in North America, 1841–1867}}
{{Hatnote|Several terms redirect here. For a list of current provinces, see [[Provinces and territories of Canada#Provinces|Provinces of Canada]]. For the religious jurisdiction, see [[Ecclesiastical Province of Canada]]. For the athletic organization, see [[Canada West Universities Athletic Association]]. For the contemporary region, see [[Central Canada]]. For other uses, see [[Canada (disambiguation)]] and [[Canadas (disambiguation)]].}}
{{More citations needed|date = March 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox former country
| conventional_long_name = Province of Canada
| common_name            = Canada
| native_name            = {{native name|fr|Province du Canada}}
| era                    = [[Canada under British rule|Pre-Confederation era]]
| status                 = Colony
| image_map              = Province of Canada.JamesWyld.ca1842.jpg
| empire                 = United Kingdom
| government_type        = [[Responsible government]] under a [[constitutional monarchy]]
| event_start            = [[Act of Union 1840|Act of Union]]
| year_start             = 1841
| date_start             = 10 February
| event_end              = [[Constitution Act, 1867|Canadian Confederation]]
| year_end               = 1867
| date_end               = 1 July
| event1                 = [[Responsible government]]
| date_event1            = 11 March 1848
| religion               = [[Church of England]] (modern [[Anglican Church of Canada]]), the officially [[State Religion|Established Church]] in Canada's West (1841–1854)<ref>{{cite book |editor-first1= Ian S. |editor-last1=Markham |editor-first2=J. Barney |editor-last2=Hawkins, IV |editor-first3=Justyn |editor-last3=Terry |editor-first4=Leslie Nuñez |editor-last4=Steffensen |title=The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Anglican Communion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rbwKNhBueasC&pg=PT138 |year=2013 |pages=138–139 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781118320860}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Curtis |last=Fahey |title=In His Name: The Anglican Experience in Upper Canada, 1791–1854 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |date=1991 |isbn=978-0-7735-7363-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U3Y-DCKZKNQC}}{{page needed|date=May 2025}}</ref>
| event2                 = 
| date_event2            = 
| event3                 = 
| date_event3            = 
| life_span              = 1841–1867
| p1                     = Upper Canada
| flag_p2                = Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
| p2                     = Lower Canada
| s1                     = Canada
| flag_p1                = Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
| flag_s1                = Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg
| flag_type              = [[Union Jack#Canada|Flag]]
| symbol                 = Arms of Canada#History
| image_flag             = Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837-1952).svg
| symbol_width           = 85
| symbol_type            = Coat of arms
| capital                = {{plainlist|
* [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]] 1841–1844
* [[Montreal]] 1844–1849
* [[Toronto]] 1849–1851, 1855–1859
* [[Quebec City]] 1851–1855, 1859–1865
* [[Ottawa]] 1865–1867
}}
| national_motto         = 
| national_anthem        = <!--Please do not change this to God Save the King/Queen.  There was never a King of the Province of Canada; only Queen Victoria, 1841 to 1867-->[[God Save the King|God Save the Queen]]<br />{{center|[[File:Rufst du, mein Vaterland (1938).oga]]}}
| official_languages       = [[Canadian English|English]]{{*}}[[Quebec French|French]]
| currency               = {{plainlist|
* [[Canadian pound|Canadian pound sterling]], 1841–1858
* [[Canadian dollar]], 1858–1867
}}
| iso3166code            = omit
| leader_title1          = 
| leader_name1           = 
| leader_title2          = 
| leader_name2           = 
| leader_title3          = 
| leader_name3           = 
| legislature            = [[Parliament of the Province of Canada]]
| type_house1            = Upper house
| house1                 = [[Legislative Council of the Province of Canada|Legislative Council]]
| type_house2            = Lower house
| house2                 = [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada|Legislative Assembly]]
| stat_year1             = 1860–61
| stat_area1             = 
| stat_pop1              = 2,507,657
| footnotes              = 
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| title_leader           = Monarch
| year_leader1           = 1841–1867
| leader1                = [[Queen Victoria]]
| title_deputy           = [[Joint premiers of the Province of Canada|Premier]]
| year_deputy1           = 1841–1842
| deputy1                = [[Samuel Harrison]]
| year_deputy2           = 1865–1867
| title_representative   = [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]]
| year_representative1   = 1841
| representative1        = [[Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham]]
| representative2        = [[Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck]]
| year_representative2   = 1861–1867
| today                  =
{{tree list}}
* [[Canada]]
** [[Ontario]]
** [[Quebec]]
{{tree list/end}}
}}

The '''Province of Canada''' (or the '''United Province of Canada''' or the '''United Canadas''') was a [[British colony]] in [[British North America]] from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by [[John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham]], in the [[Report on the Affairs of British North America]] following the [[Rebellions of 1837–1838]].

The [[Act of Union 1840]], passed on 23 July 1840 by the [[British Parliament]] and proclaimed by the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Crown]] on 10 February 1841,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/province-of-canada-1841-67/ |date=7 February 2006 |access-date=28 August 2015 |first=James Maurice Stockford |author-link=J. M. S. Careless |last=Careless |title=Province of Canada 1841–67}}</ref> merged the Colonies of [[Upper Canada]] and [[Lower Canada]] by abolishing their separate parliaments and replacing them with a [[Parliament of the Province of Canada|single one]] with two houses, a [[Legislative Council of the Province of Canada|Legislative Council]] as the upper chamber and the [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada|Legislative Assembly]] as the lower chamber. In the aftermath of the Rebellions of 1837–1838, unification of the two Canadas was driven by two factors. Firstly, Upper Canada was near bankruptcy because it lacked stable tax revenues, and needed the resources of the more populous Lower Canada to fund its internal transportation improvements. Secondly, unification was an attempt to swamp the French vote by giving each of the former provinces the same number of parliamentary seats, despite the larger population of Lower Canada.

Although Durham's report had called for the Union of the Canadas and for [[responsible government]] (a government accountable to an independent local legislature), only the first of the two recommendations was implemented in 1841. For the first seven years, the government was led by an appointed governor general accountable only to the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|British government]]. Responsible government was not achieved until the second LaFontaine–Baldwin ministry in 1849, when Governor General [[James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin]], agreed that the cabinet would be formed by the largest party in the Legislative Assembly, making the premier the head of the government and reducing the governor general to a more symbolic role.

The Province of Canada ceased to exist at [[Canadian Confederation]] on 1 July 1867, when it was divided into the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian provinces]] of [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]]. Ontario included the area occupied by the pre-1841 British colony of Upper Canada, while Quebec included the area occupied by the pre-1841 British colony of Lower Canada (which had included [[Labrador]] until 1809, when Labrador was transferred to the British [[colony of Newfoundland]]).<ref name="marianopolis">{{cite web |year=2007 |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/NFLDHistory/Quebec-NewfoundlandLabradorBoundaryIssue.htm |title=Labrador–Canada boundary |publisher=[[Marianopolis College]] |access-date=20 March 2008 |quote=[[Labrador Act 1809]]. – An imperial act (49 Geo. III, cap. 27), 1809, provided for the re-annexation to Newfoundland of 'such parts of the coast of Labrador from the River St John to Hudson's Streights, and the said Island of Anticosti, and all other smaller islands so annexed to the Government of Newfoundland by the said Proclamation of the seventh day of October one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three (except the said Islands of Madelaine) shall be separated from the said Government of Lower Canada, and be again re-annexed to the Government of Newfoundland.}}</ref> Upper Canada was primarily English-speaking, whereas Lower Canada was primarily French-speaking.

==Geography==
[[File:1855 Colton Map of British North America or Canada - Geographicus - Canada-colton-1855.jpg|thumb|1855 map of Northern America, by [[J. H. Colton|Joseph Colton]], showing Canada East and Canada West]]
The Province of Canada was divided into two parts: [[Canada East]] and [[Canada West]].

===Canada East===
{{main|Canada East}}
Canada East was what became of the former colony of [[Lower Canada]] after being united into the Province of Canada. It would become the province of [[Quebec]] after Confederation.

===Canada West===<!--linked from [[Template:History of Ontario]]-->
<!--{{main|Canada West}}-->
Canada West was what became of the former colony of [[Upper Canada]] after being united into the Province of Canada. It became the province of [[Ontario]] after Confederation.

==Parliamentary system==
{{main|Constitutional history of Canada}}

===Capitals (seat of government)===
[[File:Map of the Province of Canada from Lake Superior to the Gulf of St. Lawrence CTASC.jpg|thumb|Map of the Province of Canada from Lake Superior to the Gulf of St. Lawrence (1855)]]
The location of the capital city of the Province of Canada and of its bureaucracy changed six times in its 26-year history, because its elected politicians could not agree on a permanent seat of government.<ref>{{cite book |first=David B. |last=Knight |title=Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system |edition=2nd |location=Ottawa |publisher=Carleton University Press |date=1991 |isbn=0-88629-148-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zPY3hRG0a-EC}}</ref> The first capital was in [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]] (1841–1844). The seat of government and the bureaucracy moved to [[Montreal]] (1844–1849) until rioters, spurred by a series of incendiary articles published in ''[[The Gazette (Montreal)|The Gazette]]'', protested against the [[Rebellion Losses Bill]] and [[Burning of the Parliament Buildings in Montreal|burned down Montreal's parliament buildings]]. It then moved to [[Toronto]] (1849–1851). It moved to [[Quebec City]] from 1851 to 1855, then returned to Toronto from 1855 to 1859 before returning to Quebec City from 1859 to 1865. In 1857, [[Queen Victoria]] was asked to select a permanent seat of government. Her decision to make [[Ottawa]] as the permanent capital of the Province of Canada was announced in February 1858. The government subsequently initiated construction of Canada's first parliament buildings, on [[Parliament Hill]]. The first stage of this construction was completed in 1865, just in time to host the final session of the last [[8th Parliament of the Province of Canada|parliament]] of the Province of Canada before [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]] in 1867.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clapperton |first1=Nina |title=14 Canada Capital Cities |url=https://ninaoutandabout.ca/canada-capital-cities/ |website=Nina Out and About |date=18 November 2021 |access-date=10 April 2022}}</ref>

===Governors general===
{{main article|List of governors general of Canada}}
[[File:United Canada 1840.png|thumb|upright=1.6|Political organization under the ''Act of Union'', 1840]]
The Governor General remained the head of the civil administration of the colony, appointed by the British government, and responsible to it, not to the local legislature. He was aided by the Executive Council and the Legislative Council. The Executive Council aided in administration, and the Legislative Council reviewed legislation produced by the elected Legislative Assembly.

====Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham (1839–1841)====
[[File:Lord Sydenham.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.57|Charles Poulett Thomson]]
{{main|Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham}}
Sydenham came from a wealthy family of timber merchants, and was an expert in finance, having served on the English Board of Trade which regulated banking (including the colony). He was promised a barony if he could successfully implement the union of the Canadas, and introduce a new form of municipal government, the District Council. The aim of both exercises in state-building was to strengthen the power of the Governor General, to minimise the effect of the numerically superior French vote, and to build a "middle party" that answered to him, rather than the Family Compact or the Reformers. Sydenham was a [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] who believed in rational government, not "responsible government". To implement his plan, he used widespread electoral violence through the [[Orange Order in Canada|Orange Order]]. His efforts to prevent the election of [[Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine|Louis LaFontaine]], the leader of the French reformers, were foiled by [[David Willson (1778–1866)|David Willson]], the leader of the [[The Children of Peace|Children of Peace]], who convinced the electors of the 4th Riding of York to transcend linguistic prejudice and elect LaFontaine in an English-speaking riding in Canada West.<ref>{{cite DCB |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/thomson_charles_edward_poulett_7E.html |volume=7 |title=Thomson, Charles Edward Poulett, 1st Baron Sydenham |first=Phillip |last=Buckner}}</ref>

====Charles Bagot (1841–1843)====
[[File:SirCharlesBagot.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.57|Charles Bagot]]
{{main|Charles Bagot}}
Bagot was appointed after the unexpected death of Thomson, with the explicit instructions to resist calls for responsible government. He arrived in the capital, Kingston, to find that Thomson's "middle party" had become polarised and he therefore could not form an executive. Even the Tories informed Bagot he could not form a cabinet without including LaFontaine and the French Party. LaFontaine demanded four cabinet seats, including one for Robert Baldwin. Bagot became severely ill thereafter, and Baldwin and Lafontaine became the first real premiers of the Province of Canada.<ref>{{cite book |last=Saul |first=John Ralston |title=Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine & Robert Baldwin |year=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=Toronto |pages=130–133 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWfij8Pbi-oC |isbn=9780143178743}}</ref> However, to take office as ministers, the two had to run for re-election. While LaFontaine was easily re-elected in 4th York, Baldwin lost his seat in Hastings as a result of Orange Order violence. It was now that the pact between the two men was completely solidified, as LaFontaine arranged for Baldwin to run in [[Rimouski]], Canada East. This was the union of the Canadas they sought, where LaFontaine overcame linguistic prejudice to gain a seat in English Canada, and Baldwin obtained his seat in French Canada.{{sfnp|Saul|2010|pages=134–135}}<ref>{{cite DCB |last=Monet |first=Jacques |title=Bagot, Sir Charles |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bagot_charles_7E.html |volume=7}}</ref>

====Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe (1843–1845)====
[[File:Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe by George Chinnery.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.57|Charles Metcalfe]]
{{main|Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe}}
The Baldwin–LaFontaine ministry barely lasted six months before Governor Bagot also died in March 1843. He was replaced by Charles Metcalfe, whose instructions were to check the "radical" reform government. Metcalfe reverted to the Thomson system of strong central autocratic rule. Metcalfe began appointing his own supporters to patronage positions without Baldwin and LaFontaine's approval, as joint premiers. They resigned in November 1843, beginning a constitutional crisis that would last a year. Metcalfe refused to recall the legislature to demonstrate its irrelevance; he could rule without it. This year-long crisis, in which the legislature was prorogued, "was the final signpost on Upper Canada's conceptual road to democracy. Lacking the scale of the American Revolution, it nonetheless forced a comparable articulation and rethinking of the basics of political dialogue in the province."<ref>{{cite book |last=McNairn |first=Jeffrey |title=The Capacity to Judge: Public Opinion and Deliberative Democracy in Upper Canada 1791–1854 |year=2000 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |pages=237}}</ref> In the ensuing election, however, the Reformers did not win a majority and thus were not called to form another ministry. Responsible government would be delayed until after 1848.<ref>{{cite DCB |first=Donald R. |last=Beer |title=Metcalfe, Charles Theophilus, 1st Baron Metcalfe |volume=7 |url=https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/metcalfe_charles_theophilus_7E.html}}</ref>

====Charles Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart and Baron Greenock (1845–1847)====
{{main|Charles Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart}}
Cathcart had been a staff officer with Wellington in the Napoleonic Wars, and rose in rank to become commander of British forces in North America from June 1845 to May 1847. He was also appointed as Administrator then Governor General for the same period, uniting for the first time the highest Civil and military offices. The appointment of this military officer as Governor General was due to heightened tensions with the United States over the [[Oregon boundary dispute]]. Cathcart was deeply interested in the natural sciences, but ignorant of constitutional practice, and hence an unusual choice for Governor General. He refused to become involved in the day-to-day government of the conservative ministry of William Draper, thereby indirectly emphasising the need for responsible government. His primary focus was on redrafting the Militia Act of 1846. The signing of the Oregon Boundary Treaty in 1846 made him dispensable.<ref>{{cite DCB |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cathcart_charles_murray_8E.html |title=Murray, Charles, 2nd Earl Cathcart |volume=8 |last=Cooke |first=O. A |last2=Hillmer |first2=Norman}}</ref>

====James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin (1847–1854)====
[[File:Felice Beato (British, born Italy - Portrait of Lord Elgin, Plenipotentiary and Ambassador, Who Signed the Treaty - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.57|James Bruce, Lord Elgin]]
{{main|James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin}}
Elgin's second wife, Lady Mary Louisa Lambton, was the daughter of [[John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham|Lord Durham]] and niece of [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Lord Grey]], making him an ideal compromise figure to introduce responsible government. On his arrival, the Reform Party won a decisive victory at the polls. Elgin invited LaFontaine to form the new government, the first time a Governor General requested cabinet formation on the basis of party. The party character of the ministry meant that the elected premier – and no longer the governor – would be the head of the government. The Governor General would become a more symbolic figure. The elected Premier in the Legislative Assembly would now become responsible for local administration and legislation. It also deprived the Governor of patronage appointments to the civil service, which had been the basis of Metcalfe's policy.<ref name="biographi.ca">{{cite DCB |last=Morton |first=W. L. |title=Bruce, James, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine |volume=9 |url=https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bruce_james_9E.html}}</ref> The test of responsible government came in 1849, when the Baldwin–Lafontaine government passed the Rebellion Losses Bill, compensating French Canadians for losses suffered during the [[Rebellions of 1837]]. Lord Elgin granted [[royal assent]] to the bill despite heated [[Tory]] opposition and his own personal misgivings, sparking riots in Montreal, during which Elgin himself was assaulted by an English-speaking Orange Order mob and the Parliament buildings were burned down.<ref name="biographi.ca"/>

====Edmund Walker Head, 8th Baronet (1854–1861)====
[[File:Edmund Walker Head.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.57|Edmund Walker Head]]
{{main|Edmund Walker Head}}
It was under Head, that true political party government was introduced with the [[Liberal-Conservative Party]] of [[John A. Macdonald]] and [[George-Étienne Cartier]] in 1856. It was during their ministry that the first organised moves toward Canadian Confederation took place.<ref>{{cite DCB |title=Head, Sir Edmund Walker |first=James A. |last=Gibson |volume=9 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/head_edmund_walker_9E.html}}</ref>

====Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck (1861–1868)====
{{main|Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck}}
It was under Monck's governorship that the [[Great Coalition]] of all of the political parties of the two Canadas occurred in 1864. The Great Coalition was formed to end the political deadlock between predominantly French-speaking Canada East and predominantly English-speaking Canada West. The deadlock resulted from the requirement of a "double majority" to pass laws in the Legislative Assembly (i.e., a majority in both the Canada East and Canada West sections of the assembly). The removal of the deadlock resulted in three conferences that led to confederation.<ref>{{cite DCB |title=Monck, Charles Stanley, 4th Viscount Monck|first=Jacques |last=Monet |volume=12 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/monck_charles_stanley_12E.html}}</ref>

===Executive Council===
{{main|Executive Council of the Province of Canada}}
Thomson reformed the Executive Councils of Upper and Lower Canada by introducing a "President of the Committees of Council" to act as a chief executive officer for the council and chair of the various committees. The first was [[Robert Baldwin Sullivan]]. Thomson also systematically organised the civil service into departments, the heads of which sat on the Executive Council. A further innovation was to demand that every Head of department seek election in the Legislative Assembly.

===Legislative Council===
{{main|Legislative Council of the Province of Canada}}
The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the [[upper house]]. The 24 legislative councillors were originally appointed. In 1856, a bill was passed to replace the process of appointing members by a process of electing members. Members were to be elected from 24 divisions in each of Canada East and Canada West. Twelve members were elected every two years from 1856 to 1862. Members previously appointed were not required to relinquish their seats.

===Legislative Assembly===
{{main|Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada|Joint premiers of the Province of Canada}}
{{see also|List of elections in the Province of Canada}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada (1841–1863) – seats won by party
|-
! Colspan = "2" rowspan = "2" |'''Year'''
! colspan = "3"| 1841
! colspan = "3"| 1844
! colspan = "3"| 1848
! colspan = "3"| 1851
! colspan = "3"| 1854
! colspan = "3"| 1858
! colspan = "3"| 1861
! colspan = "3"| 1863
|-
! CW !! CE !! Total !! CW !! CE !! Total !! CW !! CE !! Total !! CW !! CE !! Total !! CW !! CE !! Total !! CW !! CE !! Total !! CW !! CE !! Total !! CW !! CE !! Total

|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#EA6D6A" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''[[Reform movement (pre-Confederation Canada)|Reform]]''' || 29|| || 29|| 12|| || 12|| 23|| || 23|| 20|| || 20|| 19|| || 19|| || || || || || || || ||
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#EA6D6A" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''[[Clear Grits]]''' || || || || || || || || || || || || || 14|| || 14|| || || || || || || || ||
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#EA6D6A" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''[[Reform movement (pre-Confederation Canada)|Radical Reform]]''' || || || || || || || || || || || || || 6|| || 6|| || || || || || || || ||
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#EA6D6A" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''[[Reform movement (pre-Confederation Canada)|Moderate Reform]]''' || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || 5|| || 5|| 6|| || 6|| 2|| ||2
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#EA6D6A" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''''[[Parti canadien|Patriote]]''''' || || 21|| 21|| || 23|| 23|| || 23|| 23|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#EA6D6A" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''''[[Parti rouge|Rouges]]''''' || || || || || || || || || || || 4|| 4|| || 19|| 19|| || 10|| 10|| || || || || ||
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#EA6D6A" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''[[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]''' || || || || || 5|| 5|| || 9|| 9|| || 9|| 9|| || || || 34|| 5|| 39|| 29|| 29|| 58|| 39|| 25||64
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#9999FF" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''[[Family Compact]]''' || 10|| || 10|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#9999FF" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''[[Tory]]''' || || 17|| 17|| 28|| 13|| 41|| 18|| 6|| 24|| 20|| 3|| 23|| || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#9999FF" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''[[Parti canadien|Ministerialist]]''' || || || || || || || || || || || 23|| 23|| || 35|| 35|| || || || || || || || ||
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#9999FF" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''''[[Parti bleu|Bleus]]''''' || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || 33|| 33|| || 27|| 27|| || 25||25
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#9999FF" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''[[Liberal-Conservative Party|Liberal-Conservative]]''' || || || || || || || || || || || || || 25|| 9|| 34|| 24|| 15|| 39|| 29|| 8|| 37|| 24|| 11||35
|- align = "right"
| bgcolor="#DCDCDC" | &nbsp; &nbsp; || align="left"|'''Independent''' || 3|| 4|| 7|| 2|| 1|| 3|| 1|| 4|| 5|| 1|| 4|| 5|| 1|| 2|| 3|| 2|| 2|| 4|| 2|| 1|| 3|| || 4||4
|- align = "right"
| colspan = "2" align="left"|'''Total''' || 42|| 42|| 84|| 42|| 42|| 84|| 42|| 42|| 84|| 42|| 42|| 84|| 65|| 65|| 130|| 65|| 65|| 130|| 65|| 65|| 130|| 65|| 65||130
|}
{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = LHLafontaine.jpg
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = [[Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine]], father of [[responsible government]]
| image2 = RobertBaldwin23.jpg
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = [[Robert Baldwin]], father of responsible government
| footer = 
| direction = 
| total_width = 360
}}

Canada West, with its 450,000 inhabitants, was represented by 42 seats in the Legislative Assembly, the same number as the more populated Canada East, with 650,000 inhabitants.

The Legislature's effectiveness was further hampered by the requirement of a "double majority" where a majority of votes for the passage of a bill had to be obtained from the members of ''both'' Canada East and West.

Each administration was led by two men, one from each half of the province. Officially, one of them at any given time had the title of ''Premier'', while the other had the title of ''Deputy''.

===District councils===
Municipal government in Upper Canada was under the control of appointed magistrates who sat in [[Quarter session|Courts of Quarter Sessions]] to administer the law within a District. A few cities, such as Toronto, were incorporated by special acts of the legislature. [[Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham|Governor Thomson]], 1st Baron Sydenham, spearheaded the passage of the District Councils Act which transferred municipal government to District Councils. His bill allowed for two elected councillors from each township, but the warden, clerk and treasurer were to be appointed by the government. This thus allowed for strong administrative control and continued government patronage appointments. Sydenham's bill reflected his larger concerns to limit popular participation under the tutelage of a strong executive.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Whebell|first=C. F. J.|title=The Upper Canada District Councils Act of 1841 and British Colonial Policy|journal=[[The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History]]|year=1989|volume=XVII|issue=2|pages=194|doi=10.1080/03086538908582787}}</ref> The Councils were reformed by the Baldwin Act in 1849 which made municipal government truly democratic rather than an extension of central control of the Crown. It delegated authority to municipal governments so they could raise taxes and enact [[by-law]]s. It also established a hierarchy of types of municipal governments, starting at the top with cities and continued down past towns, villages and finally townships. This system was to prevail for the next 150 years.<ref>{{cite book|last=White|first=Graham|title=Government and Politics of Ontario|url=https://archive.org/details/governmentpoliti00whit|url-access=registration|year=1997|publisher=University of Toronto Press|location=Toronto|pages=[https://archive.org/details/governmentpoliti00whit/page/134 134]}}</ref>

==Political parties==
{{main|Reform movement (pre-Confederation Canada)}}

===Reform Association of Canada===
[[File:Second Meeting House.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[The Children of Peace|The Second Meeting House, Sharon]], where the Reform Association met in June 1844]]
During the year-long constitutional crisis in 1843–44, when Metcalfe prorogued Parliament to demonstrate its irrelevance, Baldwin established a "Reform Association" in February 1844, to unite the Reform movement in Canada West and to explain their understanding of responsible government. Twenty-two branches were established. A grand meeting of all branches of the Reform Association was held in the Second Meeting House of the Children of Peace in [[Sharon, Ontario|Sharon]]. Over three thousand people attended this rally for Baldwin.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schrauwers|first=Albert|title=Union is Strength: W.L. Mackenzie, the Children of Peace, and the Emergence of Joint Stock Democracy in Upper Canada|year=2009|publisher=University of Toronto Press|location=Toronto|pages=239–40 |isbn=978-0-8020-9927-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ORPru8jGo6IC&pg=PA239}}</ref> the Association was not, however, a true political party and individual members voted independently.

===Parti rouge===
{{main article|Parti rouge}}
The {{Lang|fr|Parti rouge|italic=no}} (alternatively known as the Parti démocratique) was formed in Canada East around 1848 by radical [[French Canadians]] inspired by the ideas of [[Louis-Joseph Papineau]], the [[Institut canadien de Montréal]], and the reformist movement led by the {{Lang|fr|[[Parti canadien|Parti patriote]]|italic=no}} of the 1830s. The reformist ''rouges'' did not believe that the 1840 [[Act of Union 1840|Act of Union]] had truly granted a [[responsible government]] to former Upper and Lower Canada. They advocated important democratic reforms, republicanism, [[Separation of church and state|separation of the state and the church]]. In 1858, the elected ''rouges'' allied with the [[Clear Grits]]. This resulted in the shortest-lived government in Canadian history, falling in less than a day.

===Clear Grits===
{{main|Clear Grits}}
The Clear Grits were the inheritors of William Lyon Mackenzie's [[The Reform Movement (Upper Canada)|Reform movement]] of the 1830s. Their support was concentrated among southwestern Canada West farmers, who were frustrated and disillusioned by the 1849 [[Reform Party (pre-Confederation)|Reform]] government of [[Robert Baldwin]] and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine's lack of democratic enthusiasm. The Clear Grits advocated [[Universal suffrage|universal male suffrage]], [[Representation (politics)#Representation by population|representation by population]], democratic institutions, reductions in government expenditure, abolition of the [[Clergy reserve]]s, [[Voluntaryism|voluntarism]], and [[free trade]] with the United States. Their platform was similar to that of the British [[Chartism|Chartists]]. The Clear Grits and the {{Lang|fr|[[Parti rouge]]|italic=no}} evolved into the [[Liberal Party of Canada]].<ref name="Joseph Wearing 1996, pp. 19–20">{{cite book |first=Joseph |last=Wearing |chapter=Finding our parties' roots |editor1=Alain Gagnon |editor2=Brian Tanguay |title=Canadian Parties in Transition |edition=2nd |location=Toronto |publisher=Nelson Canada |date=1996 |pages=19–20 |chapter-url=}}</ref>

===Parti bleu===
{{main|Parti bleu}}
The Parti bleu was a moderate political group in Canada East that emerged in 1854. It was based on the moderate reformist views of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine.

===Liberal-Conservative Party===
{{main|Liberal-Conservative Party}}
The Liberal-Conservative Party emerged from a coalition government in 1854 in which moderate [[Reform movement (pre-Confederation Canada)|Reformers]] and Conservatives from [[Upper Canada#Canada West|Canada West]] joined with ''[[Parti bleu|bleus]]'' from Canada East under the dual prime-ministership of [[Allan MacNab]] and [[Augustin-Norbert Morin|A.-N. Morin]]. The new ministry were committed to secularise the Clergy reserves in Canada West and to abolish [[Seigneurial system of New France|seigneurial tenure]] in Canada East.<ref>{{cite book |first=J. M. S. |last=Careless |title=The Union of the Canadas; the Growth of Canadian Institutions, 1841-1857 |location=Toronto |publisher=McClelland & Stewart |date=1967 |pages=192–197 |isbn=978-0-7710-1912-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/unionofcanadaoxf00jmsc}}</ref> Over time, the Liberal-Conservatives evolved into the Conservative party.<ref name="Joseph Wearing 1996, pp. 19–20"/>

==Effects of responsible government==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2013}}
No provision for responsible government was included in the Act of Union 1840. Early Governors of the province were closely involved in political affairs, maintaining a right to make [[Executive Council of Ontario|Executive Council]] and other appointments without the input of the legislative assembly.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}
[[Image:United Canada 1848.png|thumb|upright=1.6|centre|Political organisation under the ''Union Act'' (1848)]]

However, in 1848 the [[James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin|Earl of Elgin]], then Governor General, appointed a Cabinet nominated by the majority party of the Legislative Assembly, the Baldwin–Lafontaine coalition that had won elections in January. Lord Elgin upheld the principles of responsible government by not repealing the Rebellion Losses Bill, which was highly unpopular with some English-speaking [[United Empire Loyalist|Loyalists]] who favoured imperial over majority rule.

As Canada East and Canada West each held 42 seats in the [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada|Legislative Assembly]], there was a legislative deadlock between English (mainly from Canada West) and French (mainly from Canada East). The majority of the province was French, which demanded "rep-by-pop" (representation by population), which the Anglophones opposed.

The granting of responsible government to the colony is typically attributed to reforms in 1848 (principally the effective transfer of control over patronage from the Governor to the elected ministry). These reforms resulted in the appointment of the second Baldwin–Lafontaine government that quickly removed many of the disabilities on French-Canadian political participation in the colony.

Once the English population, rapidly growing through immigration, exceeded the French, the English demanded representation-by-population. In the end, the legislative deadlock between English and French led to a movement for a federal union which resulted in the broader Canadian Confederation in 1867.

===Liberal order===
In "The Liberal Order Framework: A Prospectus for a Reconnaissance of Canadian History" McKay argues that "the category 'Canada' should henceforth denote a historically specific project of rule, rather than either an essence we must defend or an empty homogeneous space we must possess. Canada-as-project can be analyzed as the implantation and expansion over a heterogeneous terrain of a certain politico-economic logic—to wit, liberalism."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mckay|first1=Ian|title=The Liberal Order Framework: A Prospectus for a Reconnaissance of Canadian History|journal=[[Canadian Historical Review]]|year=2000|volume=81|issue=4|pages=616–678|url=http://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/chr.81.4.616|publisher=University of Toronto Press|doi=10.3138/chr.81.4.616|s2cid=162365787|access-date=13 December 2016|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The liberalism of which McKay writes is not that of a specific political party, but of certain practices of state building which prioritise property, first of all, and the individual.

==Legislative initiatives==
[[File:Incendie Parlement Montreal.jpg|thumb|left|Burning of the Parliament Buildings, Montreal, 1849]]

The ''Baldwin Act 1849'', also known as the Municipal Corporations Act, replaced the local government system based on district councils in Canada West by government at the county level. It also granted more autonomy to townships, villages, towns and cities.

Despite the controversy, the government compensated landowners in the ''Rebellion Losses Bill'' of 1849 for the actions during the Rebellion.

The ''[[Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty]]'' of 1854, also known as the Elgin–[[William L. Marcy|Marcy]] Treaty, was a trade treaty between the United Province of Canada and the United States. It covered raw materials and was in effect from 1854 to 1865. It represented a move toward free trade.

Education in Canada West was regulated by the province through the General Board of Education from 1846 until 1850, when it was replaced by the Department of Public Instruction, which lasted until 1876.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Evolution of Education in Ontario – The Ministries and Ministers|url=https://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/on-line-exhibits/education/ministers.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510024702/https://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/on-line-exhibits/education/ministers.aspx|archive-date=10 May 2010|access-date=12 August 2012|publisher=[[Archives of Ontario]]}}</ref>
The province improved the educational system in Canada West under [[Egerton Ryerson]].

French was reinstated as an official language of the legislature and the courts. The Legislature also codified the [[Civil Code of Quebec|Civil Code of Lower Canada]] in 1866, and abolished the seigneurial system in Canada East.

In 1849, King's College was renamed the University of Toronto and the school's ties with the Church of England were severed.<ref name="friedland_2002">{{cite book |title=The University of Toronto: A History |url=https://archive.org/details/universityoftoro0000frie |url-access=registration |last=Friedland |first=Martin L. |year=2002 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=0-8020-4429-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/universityoftoro0000frie/page/4 4], 31, 143, 156, 313, 376, 593–6}}</ref>

The [[Grand Trunk Railway]] was incorporated by the Legislature in the 1850s. Exploration of Western Canada and [[Rupert's Land]] with a view to annexation and settlement was a priority of Canada West politicians in the 1850s leading to the [[Palliser Expedition]] and the Red River Expedition of [[Henry Youle Hind]], George Gladman and [[Simon James Dawson]].

In 1857, the Legislature introduced the ''[[Gradual Civilization Act]]'', putting into law the principle that Indigenous persons should become British subjects and discard their Indian status, in exchange for a grant of land.

==Population==
{{main|Population of Canada by year}}
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Population (Upper) Canada West<ref name=StatCanHist>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20000823022139/http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/98-187-XIE/colonial.pdf Statistics of Canada Introduction Volume Fourth]." [[Statistics Canada]]. pp. 20–21. Retrieved 24 October 2018.</ref>
!Population (Lower) Canada East<ref name=StatCanHist/>
|-
|1841
|455,688
|n/a
|-
|1844
|n/a
|697,084
|-
|1848
|725,879
|765,797–786,693 estimates
|-
|1851–52
|952,004
|890,261
|-
|1860–61
|1,396,091
|1,111,566
|}

==See also==
===Political history===
* [[History of Canada (1763–1867)]]
* [[List of elections in the Province of Canada]]
* [[List of by-elections in the Province of Canada]]

===Political structure===
* [[List of governors general of Canada]]
* [[Joint premiers of the Province of Canada]]
* [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada]]
* [[Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada]]
* [[Commissioner of Crown Lands (Province of Canada)]]
* [[List of Postmasters General for the Province of Canada|Postmasters General of the Province of Canada]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Careless., J. M. S. ed. ''The Pre-Confederation premiers : Ontario government leaders, 1841–1867''; (Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1980.)
* Careless, J. M. S. ''The union of the Canadas : the growth of Canadian institutions, 1841–1857''. (Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1967.) {{ISBN|0-7710-1912-2}}. [https://archive.org/details/unionofcanadaoxf00jmsc online]
* Cornell, Paul G. ''The great coalition, June 1864''. (Ottawa : Canadian Historical Association, 1966.)
* Cornell, Paul G. "The Genesis of Ontario politics in the Province of Canada (1838-1871)," in ''Profiles of a Province: studies in Ontario History,'' (Toronto: Ontario Historical Society, 1967), 59-72.
* Dent, John Charles, ''1841–1888. The last forty years : the Union of 1841 to Confederation''; abridged and with an introduction by Donald Swainson. (Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1972.)
* Faucher, Albert. "Some Aspects of the Financial Difficulties of the Province of Canada." ''Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science/Revue canadienne de economiques et science politique'' 26.4 (1960): 617–624.
* Gates, Paul W. "Official encouragement to immigration by the province of Canada." ''Canadian Historical Review'' 15.1 (1934): 24–38.
* Knight, David B. ''Choosing Canada's capital : conflict resolution in a parliamentary system''. 2nd ed. (Ottawa : Carleton University Press, 1991). xix, 398 p.&nbsp;{{ISBN|0-88629-148-8}}.
* Messamore, Barbara Jane. ''Canada's governors general, 1847–1878 : biography and constitutional evolution''. (Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 2006.)
* Morton, W. L. (William Lewis). ''The critical years : the union of British North America, 1857–1873''. (Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1964.)
* Ormsby, William G. "The Civil List Question in the Province of Canada." Canadian Historical Review 35.2 (1954): 93–118.
* Piva, Michael J. ''The borrowing process : public finance in the Province of Canada, 1840-1867'' (1992) [https://archive.org/details/borrowingprocess1992piva online]
* Rasporich, Anthony W. "The development of political and social ideas in the province of Canada, 1848-58." (PhD dissertation, U of Manitoba 1970) [https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/bitstream/handle/1993/15666/Rasporich_The_development.pdf online].
* Ryerson, Stanley B. ''Unequal union : roots of crisis in the Canadas, 1815–1873''. (Toronto : Progress Books, 1975, 1973.) A Marxist assessment.
* Saul, John Ralston. ''Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin'' (2010) [https://archive.org/details/louishippolytela0000saul online]

===Primary sources===
* Waite, Peter B. ed. ''Confederation Debates in the Province of Canada, 1865'' (McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, 2006). [https://archive.org/details/confederationdeb0000unse/page/n8/mode/1up online]

{{Canadian colonies}}
{{History of Canada navbox}}
{{British overseas territories}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|45.5|-75.5|type:country|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada, Province of}}
[[Category:Province of Canada| ]]
[[Category:British North America]]
[[Category:Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas]]
[[Category:1867 disestablishments in North America]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1841]]
<!-- Quebec -->
[[Category:Political history of Quebec]]
<!-- Ontario -->
[[Category:Political history of Ontario]]
[[Category:Former colonies in North America]]
[[Category:1841 establishments in the British Empire]]
[[Category:1841 establishments in Canada]]