Province of Canada - History

History

From 1791 to 1841, the territory roughly corresponding to Southern Ontario in Canada belonged to the British colony of the Province of Upper Canada, while the southern portion of Quebec and the Labrador region of Newfoundland and Labrador belonged to the colony of the Province of Lower Canada (until 1809, when Labrador was transferred to the colony of Newfoundland). Upper Canada was primarily Anglophone, whereas Lower Canada was Francophone. The Act of Union 1840, passed July 23, 1840, by the British parliament and proclaimed by the Crown on February 10, 1841, merged the two colonies by abolishing the parliaments of Upper and Lower Canada and replacing them with a single one.

While this new legislature maintained equal representation for both of the former colonies, the democratic nature of Lower Canada's elections was fundamentally flawed. Despite the Francophone majority in Lower Canada, most of the power was concentrated on the Anglophone minority, who exploited the lack of a secret ballot to intimidate the electorate.

The area that had previously comprised Upper Canada was designated "Canada West", while the area that had comprised Lower Canada was designated "Canada East". The Province of Canada ceased to exist when the British North America Act passed by the British Parliament was proclaimed July 1, 1867.