What was upper canada

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 present-day Quebec to the northeast.

Upper Canada was the primary destination of Loyalist refugees and settlers from the United States after the American Revolution, who often were granted land to settle in Upper Canada.

Already populated by Indigenous peoples, land for settlement in Upper Canada was made by treaties between the new British government and the Indigenous, exchanging land for one-time payments or annuities. The new province was characterized by its British way of life, including bicameral parliament and separate civil and criminal law, rather than mixed as in Lower Canada or elsewhere in the British Empire. The division was created to ensure the exercise of the same rights and privileges enjoyed by loyal subjects elsewhere in the North American colonies.

The United States attempted to capture Upper Canada, but the war ended with the situation unchanged. The government of the colony came to be dominated by a small group of persons, known as the "Family Compact", who held most of the top positions in the Legislative Council and appointed officials. In , an unsuccessful rebellion attempted to overthrow the undemocratic system.

Representative government would be established in the s. Upper Canada existed from its establishment on 26 December to 10 February , when it was united with adjacent Lower Canada to form the Province of Canada. The arms contains symbols reflecting Ontario's British heritage along with local symbols. At the upper part of the shield is the red cross of St. George, representing England. The province also lacked in infrastructures such as schools, hospitals, and local government.

Early attempts to push through political reform, led by those such as Robert Baldwin, were moderate and unsuccessful. William Lyon Mackenzie took charge of the reformers in and left them into armed revolt against the government. The rebellion was defeated, but reform would follow. The Act of did not put an end to tensions in what was now, Lower Canada.

While the majority of the population remained French-speaking, the British imposed English as the official language. Similarly, two political papers, The Quebec Mercury and Le Canadien voiced the interests of the English merchants and the Canadiens , respectively. Lower Canada appeared to thrive as the population boomed, growing from , in to , in Fur trade and commercial agriculture continued to dominate the economy.

The timber trade grew rapidly after as demand rose, in part to meet the needs for shipbuilding. By , however, the economy was in crisis. The declining price of furs and wheat resulted in a sharp decline in production, and many farmers were reduced to subsistence farming. The Province fell into chronic deficit importing wheat from Upper Canada. By the early nineteenth century, overpopulation had led to land scarcity and an increasing rural population, fueled in part by British immigrants, which contributed to class struggle.

These events and conflicts helped to fan the growing nationalism sentiments which came to a head in the Patriot insurrection of The establishment of the Bank of Upper Canada and other banks failed to bring real fiscal stability. The contributions of the massive British-based colonization venture, the Canada Company , also fell short. The War of allowed the Family Compact , led by Anglican Archdeacon John Strachan later bishop of Toronto , to consolidate its political control, often in ways that were corrupt.

There is evidence of patronage appointments to official positions and to emerging banks, and the preferential granting of land.

The group was rigorous and methodical in its administration, though not always so sound in its financial management. It did have a strong sense of duty toward development , as shown by its unswerving support of public works such as the Welland Canal. But an oligarchy increasingly proved to be an anachronism in an age that was tilting towards democracy. By , opposition in the province was becoming sophisticated, but its politics were not yet dominated by disciplined parties.

Until the mids, opposition was usually led by more moderate politicians such as Dr. He desired a province composed of firmly patriotic farmers, ready to become British-American revolutionaries.

It failed because, like so many politicians after him, Mackenzie failed to understand the basic, moderate political attitudes of Upper Canadians. Gradual democratic reforms were already underway in both the colony and Britain. The inadequacies of the Constitutional Act, , with its rigid colonial structures, were by now apparent. For Upper Canada, real political change could only come from England, although it could be accelerated by advocates in the province.

Some immediate change came through the efforts of the Earl of Durham in But he found time for a short, formal visit to Toronto and an interview with Robert Baldwin.

He also received sound counsel from his advisers, especially Charles Buller, all of which he included in his famous report see Durham Report. By , Upper Canada had a diverse population of more than , people.

It stretched west from the Ottawa River to the head of the Great Lakes. It was still a rough-hewn and somewhat amorphous community, poorly equipped in terms of schools , hospitals or local government. From his lofty imperial perch, Durham suggested that a reunion of the provinces would swamp the French of Lower Canada in an English sea. More importantly, the economic potential of both colonies would be enhanced, thereby making them less burdensome to Britain.

Durham insisted that these outcomes would easily be advanced under responsible government. The Cabinet , or executive council as it was called then, would be made responsible and accountable to the elected assembly rather than to the Crown and the lieutenant governor.

The errors of the Constitutional Act, could be exorcised and unruly politics subdued without fear of further revolts. Britain approved the union, although the actual granting of responsible government would take almost a decade more. Despite their tumultuous history, Upper Canadians could make some claim to having a collective past.

With the prospects of a rapidly increasing population, greater democracy and improving agricultural opportunities, they could look forward to a brighter, collective future.

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