The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

for the province of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, 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 Queb ...

, functioning as the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

by the appointed

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, Executive Council, and

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. The first elections in Upper Canada, in which only land-owning males were permitted to vote, were held in August 1792. The first session of the Assembly's sixteen members occurred in Newark, Upper Canada on 17 September 1792. Shortly before the capital of Upper Canada was moved to

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

in 1796 the Assembly was dissolved and reconvened for twelve more sessions between 1797 and 1840 in modest buildings in the new capital. Members continued to be elected by land-owning males to represent counties and the larger towns. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, American troops set fire to the buildings of the Assembly.

Political divisions

Following the war, the executive and legislative councils became increasingly dominated by the Family Compact, a clique of wealthy individuals led primarily by John Strachan (a member of the powerful Executive Council of Upper Canada), which emerged in 1815. The compact was deeply opposed to American republicanism and favoured full establishment for the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in Upper Canada. Their increasingly authoritarian style of governance and disregard for the will of the Legislative Assembly led to demands for government that was more responsible to the people and eventually the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...

of 1837. Opposing the Family Compact were initially an assortment of anti-establishment members, but it did not gain strength until a more formal group of reformers emerged, initially led by William Warren Baldwin starting 1820s and then by

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish-born Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify the establishment of Upper Canada. He represe ...

in the 1830s. The 1840 Act of Union united Upper and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

into the single

Province of Canada 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 ...

and, from this point until

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

in 1867, a joint parliament was held for the united provinces.

List of parliaments

* 1st Parliament of Upper Canada 1792–1796 * 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada 1797–1800 * 3rd Parliament of Upper Canada 1801–1804 * 4th Parliament of Upper Canada 1805–1808 * 5th Parliament of Upper Canada 1808–1812 *

6th Parliament of Upper Canada The 6th Parliament of Upper Canada was Opening of Parliament, opened 27 July 1812. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in June 1812. All Legislative session, sessions were held at York, Upper Canada. The first Parliament buildings (locate ...

1812–1816 * 7th Parliament of Upper Canada 1817–1820 * 8th Parliament of Upper Canada 1821–1824 * 9th Parliament of Upper Canada 1825–1828 * 10th Parliament of Upper Canada 1829–1830 * 11th Parliament of Upper Canada 1831–1834 * 12th Parliament of Upper Canada 1835–1836 * 13th Parliament of Upper Canada 1837–1840

Speakers

Changing loyalties

A few members of the legislature eventually left Canada. Some left Canada to join the United States Army during the War of 1812. Some were involved in the Rebellion of 1837 and other just simply abandoned Canada. Most moved to the United States, some left for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Buildings housing the Legislative Assembly

* Navy Hall at Newark (1792) * First (1793–1813) and second (1820–1824) Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada at York From 1824 to 1832, the Assembly sat at temporary locations due to the fire that destroyed the second home: * Residence of the Chief Justice of Upper Canada (1824-1829) * Old York County Court House on King between Toronto and Church Streets (1829–1832) * Ballroom of York Hotel at York – one session 1813 * York General Hospital (1824–1829) * Third Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada (1832–1840)

References

*''Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology'', Frederick H. Armstrong, Toronto : Dundurn Press, 1985.

External links

*James G. Chewett
">"The Upper Canada almanac, and provincial calendar, for the year of Our Lord 1827: being the third after bissextile or leap year, and the eighth year of the reign of His Majesty [King G
/nowiki>eorge the Fourth ..."] (York (Toronto): Robert Stanton, 1827), 76, ii pp. *James G. Chewett
"The Upper Canada almanac and astronomical calendar for the year of Our Lord 1828: being bissextile or leap year and the ninth year of the reign of His Majesty King George the Fourth ..."
(York (Toronto): Robert Stanton, 1828), 76, ii pp. *James G. Chewett
"The Upper Canada almanac, and provincial calendar, for the year of Our Lord 1831: being the third after bissextile, or leap year, and the second year of the reign of His Majesty King William the Fourth ..."
(York (Toronto): Robert Stanton, 1831), 103, ii pp.
Government of Ontario site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada * 1792 establishments in Upper Canada * Canada, Upper