Unit 1
Development of Canada From 1840-1867
Lesson 4
Review from Grade 7
The 1800s were a time of great change for British North America. The colonies wanted more freedom from Britain, but Britain did not address these concerns fast enough to prevent The Rebellions of Upper and Lower Canada in 1837.
Three Recommendations
To understand the causes of these rebellions, the British Parliament sent politician Lord Durham to investigate. In his final report, he made three recommendations.
1) The colonies of Upper and Lower Canada should be merged into one colony with an English-speaking majority.
2) The assimilation of the French people and culture into the British language and culture.
3) Responsible government should be implemented in the new colony, giving citizens a voice in government through an elected assembly.
Act of the Union
In response to the Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada, the Act of the Union was passed. On February 10, 1841, the British Parliament unified Upper and Lower Canada into one united colony named the Province of Canada. They were named Canada East (formally Lower Canada) and Canada West (formally Upper Canada) on maps.
New Capital for Province of Canada
Entrance of the Rideau Canal, Bytown, (Ottawa) Canada West
Selecting a capital for the new Province of Canada became a challenge for the new government. The capital city was initially selected as Kingston in Canada West. Complaints were made over location and border security, pressing the government to meet in Toronto, Montréal and Québec City. The leaders could not decide on a capital that would satisfy the interests of Canada East and Canada West. They finally let Queen Victoria decide where the capital city should be located.
Bytown, now named Ottawa, was selected as the new capital city because it had a good location. Ottawa could be protected in case of an American attack, the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River provided water transportation routes into and out of the town and it was located on the border between Canada West and East. Critics of this plan were upset because Ottawa was a long distance from the more developed cities of Toronto, Kingston, Montreal and Québec City.
Politics in the Province of Canada
There were four main political parties during the 1860s in the Province of Canada: Conservatives, Clear Grits, Parti Bleu and Parti Rouge.
Canada West
Clear Grits
led by George Brown
❑ Wanted people to have more of a voice in government operations.
❑ Advocated for the representation by population government system.
❑ Had support from the rural population.
❑ Supported the idea of a confederation of British North American colonies.
Conservatives
led by John A. Macdonald
❑ Loyal to Queen Victoria and the connection to Britain.
❑ Strongly supported and worked towards the confederation of the British North American colonies.
Canada East
Parti Bleu
led by George-Etienne Cartier
❑ Supported confederation only if Canada East would maintain its religious and family law systems.
❑ Wanted cooperation between the French and English.
Parti Rouge
led by Antoine-Aimé Dorion
❑ Opposed a confederation of British North American colonies.
❑ Felt it would not be beneficial to the French population of Canada East.
Political Deadlock
When Upper and Lower Canada were united into one colony called the Province of Canada, each section received an equal amount of seats in the parliament. Therefore, Canada East and Canada West had to work together to get any new laws passed in the legislative assembly.
This became increasingly difficult as they had completely different interests, languages and religions. During this time, members of the government and opposition would vote against each other’s bills and no new laws were getting passed. This was officially called political deadlock. Neither side was able to secure a majority of votes.
George Brown, the leader of the Clear Grits, proposed a coalition government as a solution to this political deadlock. A coalition government is when different political parties choose to set aside their differences and work together to achieve a common goal. This usually happens only if there is a political deadlock or in an emergency situation.
This coalition government had two ideas to help solve the political deadlock issue:
1) To form a union of British North American colonies into one country.
2) Canada East and Canada West would be officially split into two separate provinces. Each province would have their own local government to decide on local matters and one central government to look after issues that would concern both provinces.