Quebec Act - Effects On The Province of Quebec

Effects On The Province of Quebec

• Territory: The boundaries of the province were defined by the Act. In addition to the territory of the French province of Canada, the borders were expanded to include land that is now southern Ontario, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. This increased the size of the province threefold over the size of the French province.
• Religion: The Act allowed public office holders to practice the Roman Catholic faith, by replacing the oath sworn by officials from one to Elizabeth I and her heirs with one to George III that had no reference to the Protestant faith. This enabled, for the first time, French-speaking Canadians to legally participate in the affairs of the provincial government without formally renouncing their faith. It also reestablished the collection of tithes, which had been stopped under the previous administrative rules, and it allowed Jesuit priests to return to the province.
• Structure of government: The Act defined the structure of the provincial government. The governor was to be appointed by the Crown, and he was to govern with the assistance of a legislative council; there were no provisions for an elected legislative assembly.
• Law: Because the case Campbell v. Hall called into question the ouster of French law by the Royal Proclamation of 1763, the Act confirmed that French law continued to govern civil matters, but was ousted in favour of English law in criminal matters.
• Land use: The system of seigneuries as a means of distributing land and managing its use was restored. This was the system by which the French had administered the province; the British had instituted a Township system of land management in 1763.