Legislative Council of Upper Canada

Legislative Council of Upper Canada
Type
Type
History
Founded1791 (1791)
Disbanded1841 (1841)
Preceded byCouncil for the Affairs of the Province of Quebec
Succeeded byLegislative Council of the Province of Canada

The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house of the Parliament of Upper Canada, the legislature of the colonial government of Upper Canada in British North America. Modelled after the British House of Lords, it was created by the Constitutional Act 1791[1] [a] and was in operation between 1792 and 1841.

The Legislative Council was noted for its routine disregard for the will of the elected lower house, the House of Assembly of Upper Canada. Due to the heavily overlapping membership between the Legislative Council and the Executive Council, and to the Family Compact's dominance in these two councils, the Legislative Council was, as observed by Earl of Durham in his consequential report, "practically hardly any thing but a veto in the hands of public functionaries on all the acts of that popular branch of the legislature in which they were always in a minority. This veto they used without much scruple."[3] Upon the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada in 1841 as the Province of Canada, the functions of the Legislative Council was assumed by a similarly named successor body, the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada. Both bodies were predecessors of today's Senate of Canada.

Composition

The Constitution Act 1791 specified that the Legislative Council shall consist of at least seven members, each of no less than twenty-one years of age. Members were appointed by the Lieutenant Governor for life but could be removed for limited grounds including swearing allegiance to a foreign power, non-attendance of four consecutive years, and treason.[4] Since the council was modelled after the House of Lords, the enabling legislation provided for the ability to attach membership to hereditary titles grant through letters patent.[5] While three residents of Upper Canada were created baronets, [b] no legislative council membership were attached to their baronetcies.

The first nine members of the council were appointed on July 12, 1792. Upon parliament being summoned on September 17, 1792, William Osgoode, James Baby, Robert Hamilton, Richard Cartwright, John Munro, Alexander Grant and Peter Russell took their oaths and were seated, with Osgoode being Speaker.[6] Richard Duncan did not take his seat until June 1793.[7] William Robertson resigned without having taken his seat.

The extensive overlap of the council membership with the membership of the Executive Council started right from their inaugural appointments by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe. The five executive councillors he appointed in 1792 were all concurrently legislative councillors: William Osgoode, James Baby, Alexander Grant, William Robertson and Peter Russell. Of the thirty-eight executive councillors of Upper Canada, only twelve were not concurrently legislative councillors. Of the twelve, six were senior British Army officers, and two were sons of legislative councillors.

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 of Canada.

Speaker

The Constitution Act 1791 authorized the provincial governor to appoint or remove the Legislative Council's speaker.[8] By custom, the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench were appointed as the Speaker of the Legislative Council for much of Upper Canada's existence, with only two exceptions.

List of Members of the Legislative Council

under Ended: Re-appointed to Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
under ExCo: Member of Executive Council of Upper Canada      † Died in office

Member Town Appointed Ended ExCo Notes
James Baby SandwichJuly 12, 1792† Feb 19, 1833
Richard Cartwright KingstonJuly 12, 1792† July 27, 1815
Richard Duncan WilliamsburghJuly 12, 17921805 Removed for non-attendance; [c]
Alexander Grant YorkJuly 12, 1792† May 1813
Robert Hamilton NiagaraJuly 12, 1792† March 8, 1809
John Munro Eastern DistrictJuly 12, 1792† October 1800
William Osgoode YorkJuly 12, 1792Feb 24, 1794 Departed to assumed chief justiceship of Lower Canada[d][e]
William Robertson SandwichJuly 12, 1792Nov 4, 1792 Resigned, did not take seat; [f]
Peter Russell YorkJuly 12, 1792† Sep 30, 1808
Æneas Shaw YorkJune 19, 1794† February 6, 1814
Jacob Mountain Quebec CityJuly 1, 1794† June 25, 1825 Excused from attendence [g]
John Elmsley Sr. YorkDec 10, 1796October 13, 1802 Appointed Chief Justice of Lower Canada[h]
John McGill YorkJune 10, 1797† Dec 31, 1834
Henry Allcock YorkJanuary 4, 1803July 1, 1805 Appointed Legislative Councillor of Lower Canada [i]
Thomas Scott YorkAugust 7, 1806† July 29, 1824
Thomas Talbot Port TalbotSeptember 1809Feb 10, 1841[j]
William Claus NiagaraFebruary 1, 1812† Nov 11, 1826 [k]
Thomas Clark ChippawaNov 16, 1815† October 13, 1835
William Dickson NiagaraNov 16, 1815Feb 10, 1841 [l]
Thomas Fraser ErnestownNov 16, 18151819 [m]
Neil McLean CornwallNov 16, 1815Not applicable Never attended
William Dummer Powell YorkMarch 21, 1816† Sep 6, 1834
John Strachan YorkJuly 10, 1820Feb 10, 1841 [n]
Angus McIntosh SandwichJuly 11, 1820† July 24, 1833 Excused form attendence; left Upper Canada 1831[o]
Joseph Wells YorkJuly 12, 1820Feb 10, 1841 [p]
Duncan Cameron YorkJuly 12, 1820† Sep 9, 1838
George Herchmer Markland YorkJuly 14, 1820Feb 10, 1841 Ceased attendence after 1838 due to sex scandal[q]
George Crookshank YorkJanuary 1, 1821Feb 10, 1841 [r]
John Henry Dunn YorkMarch 1, 1822Feb 10, 1841 Appointed exexcutive councillor and was elected to the Legislative Assembly upon the union [s]
Thomas Ridout YorkOctober 11, 1825† February 8, 1829
William Allan YorkOctober 12, 1825Feb 10, 1841 Retired from politics upon the union [t]
William Campbell YorkOctober 10, 1826† January 18, 1834
Peter Robinson YorkJanuary 6, 1829† July 8, 1838
Charles Jones BrockvilleJanuary 7, 1829† August 21, 1840
James Gordon AmherstburgJanuary 8, 1829 Feb 10, 1841 [u]
John Beverley Robinson YorkJanuary 1, 1830Feb 10, 1841 [v]
John Kirby Kingston1831Feb 10, 1841 [w]
Augustus Warren Baldwin YorkJanuary 26, 1831 Feb 10, 1841
Zacheus Burnham CobourgJanuary 26, 1831Feb 10, 1841 [x]
John Elmsley YorkJanuary 26, 1831Feb 10, 1841 [y]
Alexander Macdonell Eastern DistrictJanuary 27, 18311841
Walter Boswell CobourgJanuary 29, 1831Feb 10, 1841 [z]
John Hamilton QueenstonJanuary 29, 1831 Feb 10, 1841
Peter Adamson EsquesingFebruary 2, 1831Feb 10, 1841 [aa]
James Kerby KingstonMarch 2, 1831Feb 10, 1841 [ab]
James Crooks W. FlamboroughMarch 16, 1831 Feb 10, 1841
Alexander Macdonell KingstonOctober 12, 1831† January 14, 1840 [ac]
Alexander Grant BrockvilleNov 19, 1831Feb 10, 1841 Excused, ceased attendence after 1932
Arthur Lloyd MarchDec 6, 1831Feb 10, 1841 [ad]
Abraham Nelles GrimsbyJanuary 5, 1832† 1839 Ceased attendence after 1932 [ae]
Thomas Alexander Stewart PeterboroughNov 20, 1833Feb 10, 1841 [af]
William Morris PerthJanuary 22, 1836 Feb 10, 1841
George Hamilton HamiltonJanuary 23, 1836† Feb 20, 1836
John Macaulay KingstonJanuary 23, 1836 Feb 10, 1841
Archibald McLean CornwallJanuary 23, 1836Feb 10, 1841 [ag]
Philip VanKoughnet CornwallJanuary 23, 1836Feb 10, 1841 [ah]
John Simcoe Macaulay TorontoFebruary 9, 1839Feb 10, 1841 [ai]
Jonas Jones TorontoFeb 27, 1839Feb 10, 1841 [aj]
Adam Fergusson Gore DistrictFeb 27, 1839 Feb 10, 1841
Thomas Radcliff AdelaideFeb 27, 1839Feb 10, 1841 [ak]
Robert Baldwin Sullivan TorontoFeb 27, 1839 Feb 10, 1841 [al]
Robert Charles Wilkins Prince EdwardMarch 14, 1839Feb 10, 1841 [am]
John McDonald GananoqueMarch 20, 1839 Feb 10, 1841 [an]
Henry Graham Bathurst DistrictApril 19, 1839Not applicable Never attended
Isaac Fraser ErnestownJuly 16, 1839Feb 10, 1841 [ao]
Peter Boyle de Blaquière WoodstockDec 3, 1839 Feb 10, 1841
Alexander Fraser Eastern DistrictDec 3, 1839 Feb 10, 1841
John McGillivray WilliamstownDec 3, 1839Feb 10, 1841 [ap]
John Willson Gore DistrictDec 3, 1839Feb 10, 1841 [aq]


Meeting Locations

The Legislative Council sat in the same building as the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada. The journals of the Legislative Council noted that its meeting were held at "the chamber", without specifying the exact location.[12]

This section is an excerpt from Parliament of Upper Canada § Location and host structure.[edit]
The Parliament of Upper Canada convened in the capital of the province, which was located in Newark (today's Niagara-on-the-lake) during the 1st Parliament, and was relocated to the Town of York, later renamed Toronto in 1834, for the remainder twelve parliaments.

Various locations were identified as being the site for the Parliament of Upper Canada while the provincial capital was located in Newark (today's Niagara-on-the-lake). Once the capital was moved to the town of York (today's Toronto), location of the assembly were more definitively documented.

Years Location Building & notes [13]
1792-1796Newark[ar] Various mentioned, including:
  • the Anchorage
  • Freemanson's Hall
  • Navy Hall (Official residence of LG Simcoe)
1796-1813Town of York
(until 1834)

Toronto		 Palace of Parliament, Front and Parliament Sts. (destroyed on 27 April 1813 by arson by American soldiers)
1814 (once)Jordan's York Holel, between King and Front Sts.[as]
1815-1820The Lawn, Wellington and York Sts. (Personal residence of Chief Justice William Henry Draper)
1820-1824Upper Canada's Second Parliament Building, Front & Parliament Sts.[at] (Destroyed by accidental fire on 30 December 1824)
1825-1828The later York General Hospital, King and Hospital[au] Sts. (Consequently delay the opening of the hospital)
1829-1832The former Court House, bordered by King/Church/Court/Toronto Sts. (South of present day location of the Courthouse Square Park)
1832-1840The later First Ontario Parliament Buildings, bordered by Front/John/Simcoe/Wellington Sts.[av] (third parliament building for Upper Canada)

The successor legislature, the Parliament of the Province of Canada, initially convened in Kingston, the capital of the newly united province, at the Alwington House, and would move numerous times in its short lifespan.[13] The capital of the Province of Canada would returned to its former home in Toronto twice, between 1849 and 1851, and again between 1855 and 1859, with Upper Canada's third parliament building, known as the First Ontario Parliament Buildings, hosting its legislature during those periods. Upon Canadian Confederation, the building would house the legislature of the Province of Ontario, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, until 1892.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Constitution Act 1791 was the colloquial short title commonly used in Canada, but a legally sanctioned one until 1985. The legally sanctioned short title for the act was The Clergy Endowments (Canada) Act, 1791.[2]
  2. ↑ Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe (Loyalist General, Lieutenant Governor 1812–13) in 1813; Sir David William Smith (Speaker of the Legislative Assembly 1796–1800, 1801–04) in 1821; Sir George Arthur (Lieutenant Governor 1838–41) in 1841. Sir John Beverley Robinson, who was a Legislative Councillor, was not created a Baronet until 1854.
  3. ↑ returned to the United States and died in Schenectady, New York in 1819
  4. ↑ Appointed Chief Justice of Lower Canada February 24, 1794 but remained in Upper Canada and attended Council to prorogation of 3rd session of 1st parliament (July 9, 1794)[9]
  5. ↑ Chief Justice of Lower Canada 1794–1801; retired and died in London, Ontario
  6. ↑ Left for Montreal in 1797; moved to London, England 1800 and died there in 1806
  7. ↑ Anglican Bishop of Quebec and founder of the Church of England in the Canadas
  8. ↑ Died in Montreal, April 1805
  9. ↑ Moved to Lower Canada; later Speaker of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada; died in office at Quebec City in 1808
  10. ↑ Died in London, Ontario in 1853
  11. ↑ Indian Department official, Justice of the Peace; died of cancer
  12. ↑ Retired to Niagara and died there in 1846
  13. ↑ Status unknown after 1819; died in South Dundas, Ontario in 1821
  14. ↑ Resigned office due to the Act of Union 1840, but remained an active member of the Family Compact
  15. ↑ returned to Scotland
  16. ↑ Bursar of King's College
  17. ↑ Also resigned as executive councillor; withdrawn from public life in exchange for inquiry against him being buriedBurns, Robert J. (1976). "Markland, George Herchmer (Herkimer)". In Halpenny, Francess G. (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. IX (1861–1870) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  18. ↑ 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
  19. ↑ Receiver General 1820–41, later for the Province of Canada 1841–43; and member of Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada 1841–1843 for Toronto
  20. ↑ died in 1853
  21. ↑ Not initially reappointed upon the union, but appointed later in October 1845.
  22. ↑ Provincial Secretary 1817–1838, appointed Chief Justice 1829 and as such after union until 1862; created a baronet in 1854, died in 1863
  23. ↑ died in Kingston in 1846
  24. ↑ died in Cobourg in 1857
  25. ↑ Royal Navy Captain, entrepreneur, and philanthropist; supported Catholic education in York/Toronto; son of the second Chief Justice of Upper Canada John Elmsley.
  26. ↑ Royal Navy Captain, church warden of St. Peter's Anglican Church in Cobourg
  27. ↑ Peninsular War veteran, general, and mill owner
  28. ↑ Militia captain (Incorporated Militia), businessman, justice of the peace, and mill owner
  29. ↑ Roman Catholic Chaplain of the Glengarry Fencibles; Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec; Bishop of Kingston; founder of Regiopolis College, Kingston.
  30. ↑ Colonel, Napoleonic War veteran
  31. ↑ Land surveyor, Militia officer, Township Council member
  32. ↑ Settler, justice of the peace, and mill owner
  33. ↑ 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; died in Toronto in 1865
  34. ↑ later chairman of the Canadian Board of Government Arbitrators 1870–1873
  35. ↑ served on Toronto City Council 1841–1842; retired to England in 1845 and died there in 1855
  36. ↑ Barrister and judge (Prescott and Russell, Leeds and Grenville and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry)[10]
  37. ↑ Peninsular War veteran and militia officer; later as magistrate and customs collector (died June 1841 before assuming post)[11]
  38. ↑ Provincial Secretary 1838–1841; Served on Executive Council after union as President of the Council (1841–43 and Provincial Secretary 1848; appointed justice of the Court of Queen's Bench 1848
  39. ↑ Owner of mercantile firm Shuter and Wilkins
  40. ↑ later removed for non-attendance in 1848
  41. ↑ Colonel of the Addington Militia, and justice of the peace
  42. ↑ served as a justice of the peace; died near Williamstown (South Glengarry, Ontario) in 1855
  43. ↑ died in Saltfleet Township in 1860
  44. ↑ Present day Niagara-on-the-Lake
  45. ↑ Present day location of Toronto Sun Building
  46. ↑ Structure located on same plot as Palace of Parliament but further northwest (King and Berkeley)
  47. ↑ Present day Richmond Street
  48. ↑ Present day location of Metro Hall/CBC Broadcasting Centre

References

  1. ↑ UK 1791, s.3.
  2. ↑ Short Titles Act, 1896. Statutes of the United Kingdom. Vol. 59 & 60 Victoria. 1896. c. 14.
  3. ↑ (Durham Report) Lambton, John, Earl of Durham (1839). Report on the Affairs of British North America (Report). London. p. 26.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ UK 1791, ss.3-5,7,8,10.
  5. ↑ UK 1791, ss.6.
  6. ↑ Archives 1909, p. 1.
  7. ↑ Archives 1909, p. 21.
  8. ↑ UK 1791, ss.12.
  9. ↑ Archives 1909, p. 53(Osgoode was identified as "Speaker", no new speaker was identified until opening of next session)
  10. ↑ Fraser, Robert L. (1988). "Jones, Jonas". In Halpenny, Francess G. (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. VII (1836–1850) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  11. ↑ Read, Colin (1988). "Radcliff, Thomas". In Halpenny, Francess G. (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. VII (1836–1850) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  12. ↑ Archives 1909.
  13. 1 2 Froman 1984, p. v.

Sources

  • Constitution Act, 1791. Statutes of the United Kingdom. Vol. 31 George III. 1791. c. 31.
  • "Journal and Proceedings of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada (reproduction of sessions 1792–1818)". Report of the Bureau of Archives. 7th. Bureau of Archives, Province of Ontario. 1909.
  • "Journal and Proceedings of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada (reproduction of sessions 1821–1824)". Report of the Bureau of Archives. 12th. Bureau of Archives, Province of Ontario. 1915.
  • Armstrong, Frederick H. (1985). Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 0-919670-92-X.
  • Froman, Debra, ed. (1984). Legislators and Legislatures of Ontario: A Reference Guide. Vol. 1. Legislative Library, Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
  • "Dictionary of Canadian Biography". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. University of Toronto Press and Les Presses de l'Université Laval.
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