Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Conseil législatif du Bas-Canada | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1791 |
Disbanded | 1838 |
Preceded by | Council for the Affairs of the Province of Quebec |
Succeeded by | Legislative Council of the Province of Canada (following the temporary Special Council of Lower Canada) |
The Legislative Council of Lower Canada was the upper house of the Parliament of Lower Canada from 1792 until 1838. The Legislative Council consisted of appointed councillors who voted on bills passed up by the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. The legislative council was created by the Constitutional Act . Many of the members first called in the Council in 1792 had served as councillors in the Council for the Affairs of the Province of Quebec.
The council came to be dominated by the Château Clique, members of the province's most powerful families who were generally interested in preserving the status quo. Both the upper and lower houses were dissolved on March 27, 1838 following the Lower Canada Rebellion and Lower Canada was administered by an appointed Special Council.
Following the Act of Union in 1840, the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was created in 1841.
Member | Appointed to the Chamber | End of Term |
---|---|---|
Adam Mabane | 1792 [1] | 1792 (January 3) |
François-Marie Picoté de Belestre | 1792 | 1792 (March 30) |
William Smith (Speaker 1791-1793) | 1792 | 1793 (December 6) |
Edward Harrison | 1792 | 1794 (October 15) |
John Collins | 1792 | 1795 (April 15) |
John Fraser | 1792 | 1795 (December 5) |
Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry | 1792 | 1797 (December 11) |
Hugh Finlay | 1792 | 1801 (December 26) |
Joseph-Dominique-Emmanuel Le Moyne de Longueuil | 1792 | 1807 (January 19) |
Charles-Louis Tarieu de Lanaudière | 1792 | 1811 (October 2) |
René-Amable Boucher de Boucherville | 1792 | 1812 (August 31) |
Paul-Roch de Saint-Ours | 1792 | 1814 (August 11) |
Thomas Dunn (Speaker 1797-1801; 1805; 1808; 1811-1815?) | 1792 | 1818 (April 15) |
François Baby (Speaker 1806) | 1792 | 1820 (October 6) |
George Pownall | 1792 | 1834 (October 17) |
Henry Caldwell | 1793 (February 5) | 1810 (May 28) |
Jacob Mountain | 1793 (July 7) | 1825 (June 16) |
William Osgoode (Speaker 1794-1797) | 1795 (January 5) | 1824 (January 17) |
James Monk (Speaker 1802; 1815-1816) | 1795 (January 5) | 1820 (June ) [2] |
John Johnson | 1796 | 1830 (January 4) |
Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière | 1796 | 1822 (January 1) |
Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau | 1798 | 1809 (September 18) |
Jenkin Williams | 1803 (February 8) | 1819 (October 30) |
John Elmsley (Speaker 1803-1804) | 1803 (February 8) | 1805 (April 29) |
Henry Allcock (Speaker 1807-1808) | 1807 (January 21) | 1808 (February 22) |
Jonathan Sewell (Speaker 1809-1810; 1817; 1819-1826; 1829-1830; 1833-1838) | 1808 | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Charles de Saint-Ours | 1808 (December 2) | 1834 (November 11) |
John Hale (Speaker 1818; 1831) | 1808 (December 3) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Antoine-Louis Juchereau Duchesnay | 1810 (December 12) | 1825 (February 17) |
Sir John Caldwell (Speaker 1831-1833?) | 1811 (December 15) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Herman Witsius Ryland | 1811 (December 17) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
James Cuthbert | 1811 (December 18) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
Charles-Gaspard Tarieu de Lanaudière | 1811 (December 19) | 1812 (June 7) |
Charles William Grant | 1811 (December 21) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Pierre-Ignace Aubert de Gaspé | 1812 | 1823 (February 13) |
Jacques-Nicolas Perrault | 1812 (January) | 1812 (August 7) |
John Blackwood | 1813 (April 9) | 1819 (June 24) |
Pierre-Dominique Debartzch | 1814 (January 17) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
William McGillivray | 1814 (January 19) | 1825 (October 16) |
Jean-Antoine Panet | 1815 (January) | 1815 (May 17) |
John Richardson | 1816 (January 24) | 1831 (May 18) |
Joseph-Octave Plessis | 1817 (April 30) | 1825 (December 4) |
Roderick Mackenzie of Terrebonne | 1817 (May 10) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Ignace-Michel-Louis-Antoine d'Irumberry de Salaberry | 1817 (December 4) | 1828 (March 22) |
William Burns | 1818 (January 2) | 1829 (September 25) |
Michael Henry Perceval | 1818 (January 10) | 1829 (October 12) |
Olivier Perrault | 1818 (January 28) | 1827 (March 19) |
Thomas-Pierre-Joseph Taschereau | 1818 (January 28) | 1826 (October 8) |
William Scott | 1818 (January 29) | 1820 (January 11) |
Louis-René Chaussegros de Léry | 1818 (February 9) | 1832 (November 28) |
James Irvine | 1818 (February 20) | 1829 (September 20) |
Louis Turgeon | 1818 (March 10) | 1827 (September 26) |
Louis Gugy | 1818 (April 10) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry | 1818 (December 14) | 1829 (February 27) |
James Kerr (Speaker 1827-1828) | 1821 (October 19) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
William Bowman Felton | 1822 (April 6) | 1837 (June 30) |
Mathew Bell | 1823 (April 30) | 1838 (March 27) [5] |
Edward Bowen | 1824 (February 27) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Toussaint Pothier | 1824 (July 22) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
John Stewart | 1825 (May 13) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
John Forsyth | 1827 (July 3) | 1837 (December 27) |
Charles James Stewart | 1828 (January) | 1837 (July 13) |
Jean-Thomas Taschereau | 1828 (May 2) | 1832 (June 14) |
Samuel Hatt | 1829 (November 29) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Denis-Benjamin Viger | 1829 (November 30) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Louis Guy | 1830 (December 20) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
George Moffatt | 1830 (December 24) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
Jacques-Philippe Saveuse de Beaujeu | 1831 (November 25) | 1832 (June 19) |
François-Roch de Saint-Ours | 1832 (January 1) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Peter McGill | 1832 (January 3) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
John Molson | 1832 (January 4) | 1836 (January 11) |
Marc-Pascal de Sales Laterrière | 1832 (January 5) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
François-Xavier Malhiot | 1832 (January 6) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Jean Dessaulles | 1832 (January 7) | 1835 (June 20) |
Barthélemy Joliette | 1832 (January 8) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
Pierre de Rastel de Rocheblave | 1832 (January 9) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
Robert Unwin Harwood | 1832 (January 10) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
Antoine-Gaspard Couillard | 1832 (January 11) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
Jean-Baptiste Juchereau Duchesnay | 1832 (April 4) | 1833 (January 13) |
James Baxter | 1832 (August) | 1837 (November 18) |
Horatio Gates | 1832 (August 1) | 1834 (April 11) |
Robert Jones | 1832 (August 2) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
François Quirouet | 1833 (October 25) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Joseph Masson | 1834 (October 16) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Amable Dionne | 1837 (August 22) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
René-Édouard Caron | 1837 (August 22) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Janvier-Domptail Lacroix | 1837 (August 22) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Clément-Charles Sabrevois de Bleury | 1837 (August 22) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Gabriel Marchand | 1837 (August 22) | [5] [6] |
John Neilson | 1837 (August 22) | 1838 (March 27) [4] |
John Pangman | 1837 (August 22) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
Melchior-Alphonse de Salaberry | 1837 (August 22) | 1838 (March 27) [5] |
Jean-Baptiste-René Hertel de Rouville | 1837 (August 22) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
John Malcolm Fraser | 1837 (August 22) | 1838 (March 27) [3] |
During much of the existence of the Legislative Council, the Chief Justice served as Speaker and others appointed to the role in absence of the Chief Justice. [7]
After the Rebellion, the Speaker was a member of the Special Council of Lower Canada:
Unless otherwise noted, the member died in office.
This section of the Timeline of Quebec history concerns the events in British North America relating to what is the present day province of Quebec, Canada between the time of the Constitutional Act of 1791 and the Act of Union 1840.
John Neilson was a journalist, publisher and politician in Lower Canada. Born in Scotland, he emigrated to Lower Canada in 1791 at age 15, to work in his older brother's publishing company in Quebec City. On his brother's death a few years later, he inherited the business. Neilson became one of the leading publishers and booksellers in Lower Canada and in Upper Canada, selling books in both French and English. He was the editor of the newspaper La Gazette de Québec / The Quebec Gazette, published in French and in English.
Denis-Benjamin Viger was a 19th-century politician, lawyer, and newspaper publisher in Lower Canada, who served as joint premier of the Province of Canada for over two years. A leader in the Patriote movement, he was a strong French-Canadian nationalist, but a social conservative in terms of the seigneurial system and the position of the Catholic church in Lower Canada.
The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lieutenant Governor, Executive Council, and Legislative Council.
The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house governing the province of Upper Canada. Modelled after the British House of Lords, it was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was specified that the council should consist of at least seven members. Members were appointed for life but could be dropped for non-attendance. The first nine members of the council were appointed on 12 July 1792. The speaker was usually the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench. The Legislative Council was dissolved on 10 February 1841 when Upper and Lower Canada were united into the Province of Canada. Some members were reappointed to the Legislative Council of the united Province.
The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of elected legislative councilors who created bills to be passed up to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada, whose members were appointed by the governor general.
Edward Hale, D.C.L. was a Quebec businessman and political figure. He was Chancellor of Bishop's University and a significant figure to Bishop's College School.
James Leslie was a Canadian businessman and political figure. An immigrant from Scotland in 1804, he became a successful Montreal businessman and was one of the founders of the Bank of Montreal.
Stephen Sewell Foster was a physician and political figure in Canada East.
Henry Black, Q.C., LL.D. (hon.c.) was a lawyer, political figure, and judge in the Province of Canada. He was the judge in the Court of Vice-Admiralty for the Quebec City district for most of his adult life. During that time, he was briefly a member of the Special Council which governed Lower Canada following the Lower Canada Rebellions of 1837 and 1838. He also served one term in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, as a member for Quebec City.
Jonathan Sewell was a lawyer, judge, defensive spymaster and political figure in Lower Canada. Sewell utilized the idea of substantive law over procedural law as much as possible when it came to delegating punishment for criminal cases specifically; Sewell saw the certainty of punishment over the seriousness of punishment as enough to alter the intentions of non-violent or non-hardened criminals. In civil suits, Sewell "likely did more than anyone to professionalize the administration of civil justice prior to the codification of civil laws in 1866."
René-Joseph Kimber was a physician and political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East, in the Province of Canada. He represented Trois-Rivières in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada, as a member of the Parti patriote, although he opposed the use of force in the Lower Canada Rebellion. After the creation of the Province of Canada, which he opposed, he was the member for the district of Champlain in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. He was briefly a member of the Legislative Council, prior to his death in 1843.
The Special Council of Lower Canada was an appointed body which administered Lower Canada until the Union Act of 1840 created the Province of Canada. Following the Lower Canada Rebellion, on March 27, 1838, the Constitutional Act of 1791 was suspended and both the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council were dissolved.
Sir James Stuart, 1st Baronet of Oxford was a lawyer, judge, and political figure in Lower Canada.
Henry Hague Judah,, was a lawyer, businessman, and political figure in Canada East, Province of Canada. Judah was one of the first Jews to become a lawyer in early Canada, and the first Jewish member of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. He had an extensive legal practice, starting in Trois-Rivières, and later in Montreal. He was a member of the commission which implemented the abolition of seigneurial tenure in Lower Canada. He also was involved in banking, eventually becoming the president of the Montreal City and District Savings Bank, and was a promoter of the short-lived Montreal and Bytown Railway Company.
David Morrison Armstrong was a merchant, insurance agent and political figure in Canada East in the Province of Canada. He represented the electoral district of Berthier in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1841 to 1851. From 1855 to 1867 he sat in the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada, and in the Legislative Council of Quebec from 1867 until his death. He initially opposed the union of the Lower Canada and Upper Canada into the Province of Canada, and supported the reform movement for responsible government. After responsible government was achieved, he gradually became a Conservative.
Antoine-Charles Taschereau was a government official, land developer, and political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East, Province of Canada. He represented Beauce in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1830 to 1838, sometimes voting with the government and sometimes with the Parti patriote, including voting for the Ninety-Two Resolutions. He opposed the union of Lower Canada and Upper Canada into the Province of Canada. Following the union, he represented Dorchester in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1841 to 1844, as an anti-unionist and member of the French-Canadian Group.
The Parliament of Upper Canada was the legislature for Upper Canada. It was created when the old Province of Quebec was split into Upper Canada and Lower Canada by the Constitutional Act of 1791.
Robert Jones was a political figure in Canada East, in the Province of Canada. He represented Missiskoui in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1841 to 1844. He also served as a member of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada from 1832 to 1838 and the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada from 1849 to 1850.
The Honourable John Hale was a member of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada.