Legislative Council of Upper Canada | |
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Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1791 |
Disbanded | 1841 |
Preceded by | Council for the Affairs of the Province of Quebec |
Succeeded by | Legislative Council of the Province of Canada |
History of Ontario | ||||||||||||
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Timeline | ||||||||||||
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Upper Canada Topics | ||||||||||||
Province of Canada Topics | ||||||||||||
Province of Ontario topics | ||||||||||||
Ontarioportal | ||||||||||||
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.
Unlike the other three provinces that would initially make up the Dominion of Canada, a provincial Legislative Council was not re-established for Ontario when the province entered Confederation in 1867.
Member | Town | From | To | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
James Baby | Sandwich | 1792 (12 July) | 1833 (19 February) | Died in office |
Richard Cartwright | Kingston | 1792 (12 July) | 1815 (27 July) | Died in office |
Richard Duncan | Williamsburgh | 1792 (12 July) | 1805 | Dropped due to non-attendance; returned to the United States and died in Schenectady, New York in 1819 |
Alexander Grant, Sr. | York | 1792 (12 July) | 1813 (May) | Died in office |
Robert Hamilton | Niagara | 1792 (12 July) | 1809 (8 March) | Died in office |
John Munro | Eastern District | 1792 (12 July) | 1800 (October) | Died in office |
William Osgoode | York | 1792 (12 July) | 1794 (24 February) | Became Chief Justice of Lower Canada 1794–1801; retired and died in London, Ontario |
William Robertson | Sandwich | 1792 (12 July) | 1792 (4 November) | Resigned and left for Montreal in 1797; moved to London, England 1800 and died there in 1806 |
Peter Russell | York | 1792 (12 July) | 1808 (30 September) | Died in office |
Æneas Shaw | York | 1794 (19 June) | 1814 (6 February) | Died in office |
Jacob Mountain 1 (1 December 1749–16 June 1825) | Quebec City | 1794 (1 July) | 1825 (25 June) | Anglican Bishop of Quebec and founder of the Church of England in the Canadas; died in office |
John Elmsley, Sr. | York | 1796 (10 December) | 1802 (13 October) | Became Chief Justice of Lower Canada after William Osgoode; died in Montreal, April 1805 |
John McGill | York | 1797 (10 June) | 1834 (31 December) | Died in office |
Henry Allcock | York | 1803 (4 January) | 1805 (1 July) | Moved to Lower Canada as member of the Executive Council of Lower Canada and later as Speaker of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada; died in office at Quebec City in 1808 |
Thomas Scott | York | 1806 (7 August) | 1824 (29 July) | Died in office |
Thomas Talbot | Port Talbot | 1809 (September) | 1841 (10 February) | Died in London, Ontario in 1853 |
William Claus (8 September 1765–11 November 1826) | Niagara | 1812 (1 February) | 1826 (11 November) | Died of cancer while in office; Indian Department official, Justice of the Peace |
Thomas Clark | Chippawa | 1815 (16 November) | 1835 (13 October) | Died in office |
William Dickson | Niagara | 1815 (16 November) | 1841 (10 February) | Retired to Niagara and died there in 1846 |
Thomas Fraser | Ernestown | 1815 (16 November) | 1819 | Status unknown after 1819; died in South Dundas, Ontario in 1821 |
Neil McLean | Cornwall | 1815 (16 November) | Not applicable | Never attended |
William Dummer Powell | York | 1816 (21 March) | 1834 (6 September) | Died in office |
John Strachan | York | 1820 (10 July) | 1841 (10 February) | Resigned office due to the Act of Union 1840, but remained an active member of the Family Compact |
Angus McIntosh 2 | Sandwich | 1820 (11 July) | 1833 (24 July) | Died in office |
Joseph Wells | York | 1820 (12 July) | 1841 (10 February) | Bursar of King's College |
Duncan Cameron | York | 1820 (12 July) | 1838 (9 September) | Died in office |
George Herchmer Markland | York | 1820 (14 July) | 1838 | Resigned |
George Crookshank (23 July 1773–21 July 1859) | York | 1821 (1 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Commissariat of supplies for Fort York; Assistant Commissary General 1814–1819, Receiver General of Public Accounts (1819–1820); Director of the Bank of Upper Canada 1822–1827 |
John Henry Dunn | York | 1822 (1 March) | 1841 (10 February) | Became Receiver General for the Province of Canada in 1841, and elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada 1841–1843 for Toronto |
Thomas Ridout | York | 1825 (11 October) | 1829 (8 February) | Died in office |
William Allan | York | 1825 (12 October) | 1841 (10 February) | Retired from politics after the Act of Union of 1840, and died in 1853 |
William Campbell | York | 1826 (10 October) | 1834 (18 January) | Died in office |
Peter Robinson | York | 1829 (6 January) | 1838 (8 July) | Died in office |
Charles Jones | Brockville | 1829 (7 January) | 1840 (21 August) | Died in office |
James Gordon 3 | Amherstburg | 1829 (8 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Re-appointed |
John Beverley Robinson | York | 1830 (1 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Provincial Secretary 1817–1838, became a Baron in 1854, and died in 1863 |
John Kirby | Kingston | 1831 | 1841 (10 February) | Not re-appointed to the Council after the union; died in Kingston in 1846 |
Augustus Warren Baldwin | York | 1831 (26 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Re-appointed |
Zacheus Burnham | Cobourg | 1831 (26 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Not re-appointed after the Act of Union, and died in Cobourg in 1857 |
John Elmsley, Jr. (19 May 1801–8 May 1863) | York | 1831 (26 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Royal Navy Captain, entrepreneur, and philanthropist; supported Catholic education in York/Toronto; son of the second Chief Justice of Upper Canada John Elmsley. |
Alexander Macdonell | Eastern District | 1831 (27 January) | 1841 (?) | |
Walter Boswell | Cobourg | 1831 (29 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Royal Navy Captain, church warden of St. Peter's Anglican Church in Cobourg |
John Hamilton | Queenston | 1831 (29 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Re-appointed |
Peter Adamson | Esquesing | 1831 (2 February) | 1841 (10 February) | Peninsular War veteran, general, and mill owner |
James Kerby (1785–20 June 1854) | Kingston | 1831 (2 March) | 1841 (10 February) | Militia captain (Incorporated Militia), businessman, justice of the peace, and mill owner |
James Crooks | West Flamborough | 1831 (16 March) | 1841 (10 February) | Re-appointed |
Alexander Macdonell | Kingston | 1831 (12 October) | 1840 (14 January) | Chaplain of the Glengarry Fencibles; Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec; Bishop of Kingston; founder of Regiopolis College, Kingston. Died in office |
Alexander Grant, Jr.4 | Brockville | 1831 (19 November) | 1841 (10 February) | Excused |
Arthur Lloyd | March | 1831 (6 December) | 1841 (10 February) | Colonel, Napoleonic War veteran |
Abraham Nelles4 | Grimsby | 1832 (5 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Land surveyor, Militia officer, Township Council member. Died in office 1839 |
Thomas Alexander Stewart (10 June 1786–6 September 1847) | Peterborough | 1833 (20 November) | 1841 (10 February) | Settler, justice of the peace, and mill owner |
William Morris | Perth | 1836 (22 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Re-appointed |
George Hamilton | Hamilton | 1836 (23 January) | 1836 (20 February) | Died in office |
John Macaulay | Kingston | 1836 (23 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Re-appointed |
Archibald McLean | Cornwall | 1836 (23 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Not re-appointed; later served as in the Court of Common Pleas 1850–1862, Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench for Upper Canada 1862–1863 and judge of the Court of Error and Appeal 1863–1865; he died in Toronto in 1865 |
Philip VanKoughnet | Cornwall | 1836 (23 January) | 1841 (10 February) | Not re-appointed; later chairman of the Canadian Board of Government Arbitrators 1870–1873 |
John Simcoe Macaulay | Toronto | 1839 (9 February) | 1841 (10 February) | Not re-appointed; served on Toronto City Council 1841–1842; retired to England in 1845 and died there in 1855. |
Jonas Jones (19 May 1791–30 July 1848) | Toronto | 1839 (27 February) | 1841 (10 February) | Barrister and judge (Prescott and Russell, Leeds and Grenville and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry) [1] |
Adam Fergusson | Gore District | 1839 (27 February) | 1841 (10 February) | Re-appointed |
Thomas Radcliff (17 April 1794–6 June 1841) | Adelaide | 1839 (27 February) | 1841 (10 February) | Peninsular War veteran and militia officer; later as magistrate and customs collector (died June 1841 before assuming post) [2] |
Robert Baldwin Sullivan | Toronto | 1839 (27 February) | 1841 (10 February) | Provincial Secretary 1838–1841; not re-appointed to the Council after the Union; appointed to the Queen's Bench in 1848 |
Robert Charles Wilkins | Prince Edward | 1839 (14 March) | 1841 (10 February) | Owner of mercantile firm Shuter and Wilkins |
John McDonald | Gananoque | 1839 (20 March) | 1841 (10 February) | Appointed to the Council after the Union in 1841, but removed for non-attendance in 1848 |
Henry Graham | Bathurst District | 1839 (19 April) | Not applicable | Never attended |
Isaac Fraser | Ernestown | 1839 (16 July) | 1841 (10 February) | Colonel of the Addington Militia, and justice of the peace |
Peter Boyle de Blaquière | Woodstock | 1839 (3 December) | 1841 (10 February) | Re-appointed |
Alexander Fraser | Eastern District | 1839 (3 December) | 1841 (10 February) | Re-appointed |
John McGillivray | Williamstown | 1839 (3 December) | 1841 (10 February) | Not re-appointed; served as a justice of the peace; died near Williamstown (South Glengarry, Ontario) in 1855 |
John Willson | Gore District | 1839 (3 December) | 1841 (10 February) | Not re-appointed; died in Saltfleet Township in 1860 |
Notes:
The Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench was usually the Speaker of the Council:
The Legislative Council sat in the same building as the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada:
The Province of Upper Canada was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Quebec since 1763. Upper Canada included all of modern-day Southern Ontario and all those areas of Northern Ontario in the Pays d'en Haut which had formed part of New France, essentially the watersheds of the Ottawa River or Lakes Huron and Superior, excluding any lands within the watershed of Hudson Bay. The "upper" prefix in the name reflects its geographic position along the Great Lakes, mostly above the headwaters of the Saint Lawrence River, contrasted with Lower Canada to the northeast.
York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for the capital of Upper Canada, while he made plans to build a capital near today's London, Ontario. Simcoe renamed the location York after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, George III's second son. Simcoe gave up his plan to build a capital at London, and York became the permanent capital of Upper Canada on February 1, 1796. That year Simcoe returned to Britain and was temporarily replaced by Peter Russell.
The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in Lower Canada. It was noted for its conservatism and opposition to democracy.
The Canada Company was a private British land development company that was established to aid in the colonization of a large part of Upper Canada. It was incorporated by royal charter on August 19, 1826, under an act of the British parliament, which was given royal assent on June 27, 1825. It was originally formed to acquire and develop Upper Canada's undeveloped clergy reserves and Crown reserves, which the company bought in 1827 for £341,000 ($693,000) from the Province of Upper Canada.
The Province of Quebec was a colony in British North America which comprised the former French colony of Canada. It was established by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763, following the conquest of New France by British forces during the Seven Years' War. As part of the Treaty of Paris, France gave up its claim to the colony; it instead negotiated to keep the small profitable island of Guadeloupe.
The Ontario Legislative Building is a structure in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It houses the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and the viceregal suite of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and offices for members of the provincial parliament (MPPs). The building is surrounded by Queen's Park, sitting on that part south of Wellesley Street, which is the former site of King's College, which was leased from the university by the municipal government of Toronto in 1859, for a "peppercorn" payment of CAD$1 per annum on a 999-year term. The southern portion of the site was later handed over to the provincial government.
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.
Sir William Campbell was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Upper Canada and a resident of York, Upper Canada. He also held political appointments in both Nova Scotia and Upper Canada.
The 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 1 June 1797. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in August 1796. The first session was held at Navy Hall in Newark. The Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe believed York was a superior location for the capital as it would less vulnerable to attack by the Americans. York became the capital of Upper Canada on 1 February 1796. The remaining three sessions were held at the Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada in York, Upper Canada. This parliament was dissolved 7 July 1800.
The 6th Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 27 July 1812. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in June 1812. All sessions were held at York, Upper Canada.
The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West. It was created by The Union Act, 1840.
The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the province of Ontario. It was created by The Union Act of 1840. With the lower house, the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, the two houses constituted the Parliament of the Province of Canada.
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.
John Prince, was a lawyer, militia officer, gentleman farmer and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West.
William Dunlop also known as Tiger Dunlop, was an army officer, surgeon, Canada Company official, author, justice of the peace, militia officer, politician, and office holder. He is notable for his contributions to the War of 1812 in Canada and his work in the Canada Company, helping to develop and populate a large part of Southern Ontario. He was later elected as a Member of Parliament for the Huron riding in the 1st Parliament of the Province of Canada, Canada West.
Sir James Stuart, 1st Baronet of Oxford was a lawyer, judge, and political figure in Lower Canada.
John Robinson Hamilton, QC was a lawyer and political figure in Lower Canada and then the Province of Canada. He represented the electoral district of Bonaventure 1832 to 1834 in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. Following the creation of the Province of Canada, he again represented Bonaventure from 1841 to 1844 in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. He opposed the union of Lower Canada and Upper Canada into the Province of Canada, and supported the reform movement, which favoured responsible government.
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.
There are currently fourteen legislative buildings in Canada: Parliament in Ottawa, and one for each of the provinces and territories of Canada, though not all contain the words legislative building in their names.
Formally known as "His Majesty's Council of Nova Scotia", the Nova Scotia Council (1720–1838) was the original British administrative, legislative and judicial body in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Council was also known as the Annapolis Council and the Halifax Council. After 1749, when the judicial courts were established, the Nova Scotia Council was limited to administrative and legislative powers.