Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada

The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lieutenant Governor, Executive Council, and Legislative Council.

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada
The First Ceremonial Mace of Upper Canada The First Ceremonial Mace of Upper Canada
Type
Type	Lower house of the Parliament of Upper Canada
History
Founded	1791 (1791)
Disbanded	1841 (1841)
Preceded by	none
Succeeded by	Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

The first elections in Upper Canada, in which only land-owning males were permitted to vote, were held in August 1792.

The first session of the Assembly's sixteen members occurred in Newark, Upper Canada on 17 September 1792. Shortly before the capital of Upper Canada was moved to York in 1796 the Assembly was dissolved and reconvened for twelve more sessions between 1797 and 1840 in modest buildings in the new capital. Members continued to be elected by land-owning males to represent counties and the larger towns.

During the War of 1812, American troops set fire to the buildings of the Assembly.

Political divisions

Third Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada (1834)

Following the war, the executive and legislative councils became increasingly dominated by the Family Compact, a clique of wealthy individuals led primarily by John Strachan (a member of the powerful Executive Council of Upper Canada), which emerged in 1815. The compact was deeply opposed to American republicanism and favoured full establishment for the Anglican church in Upper Canada. Their increasingly authoritarian style of governance and disregard for the will of the Legislative Assembly led to demands for government that was more responsible to the people and eventually the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837. Opposing the Family Compact were initially an assortment of anti-establishment members, but it did not gain strength until a more formal group of reformers emerged, initially led by William Warren Baldwin starting 1820s and then by William Lyon Mackenzie in the 1830s.

The 1840 Act of Union united Upper and Lower Canada into the single Province of Canada and, from this point until Confederation in 1867, a joint parliament was held for the united provinces.

List of parliaments

• 1st Parliament of Upper Canada 1792–1796
• 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada 1797–1800
• 3rd Parliament of Upper Canada 1801–1804
• 4th Parliament of Upper Canada 1805–1808
• 5th Parliament of Upper Canada 1808–1812
• 6th Parliament of Upper Canada 1812–1816
• 7th Parliament of Upper Canada 1817–1820
• 8th Parliament of Upper Canada 1821–1824
• 9th Parliament of Upper Canada 1825–1828
• 10th Parliament of Upper Canada 1829–1830
• 11th Parliament of Upper Canada 1831–1834
• 12th Parliament of Upper Canada 1835–1836
• 13th Parliament of Upper Canada 1837–1840

Speakers

Speaker	Term	Parliament
Captain John McDonell	1792–1796	1st
Sir David William Smith, 1st Baronet	1796–1800 and 1801–1804	2nd and 3rd
Samuel Street	1800–1801 and 1809–1812	2nd and 5th
Alexander Macdonell	1805–1808	4th
Allan McLean	1813–1820	6th and 7th
Levius Peters Sherwood	1821–1824	8th
John Wilson	1825–1828	9th
Marshall Spring Bidwell	1829–1830 and 1835	10th and 12th
Archibald McLean	1831–1834 and 1836	11th and 12th
Allan MacNab	1837 and 1837–1840	13th
Henry Ruttan	1837	13th

Changing loyalties

A few members of the legislature eventually left Canada. Some left Canada to join the United States Army during the War of 1812. Some were involved in the Rebellion of 1837 and other just simply abandoned Canada. Most moved to the United States, some left for Great Britain.

Name	Born	Died	Reason for leaving Canada
Joseph Willcocks	Palmerstown, Ireland, Great Britain	Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada	Fled Canada – organized Canadian Volunteers within United States Army, rank as Lieutenant Colonel; died in Canada and re-buried in Buffalo, New York
William Macomb	Northern Ireland, Great Britain	Fort Detroit, Upper Canada	Detroit was part of Upper Canada before 1796; died in Detroit
Hugh McDonell	Aberchalder Lodge, Scotland	Florence (March of Tuscany, Austrian Empire)	Left Canada to serve as British diplomat; died in Italy
Robert Thorpe	Dublin, Ireland, Great Britain	London, United Kingdom	Forced to leave Canada – subdsequently served as chief justice and judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court in Sierra Leone 1808–1811; died in England
Benajah Mallory	Vermont (Thirteen Colonies)	Lockport, New York, United States	Fled Canada during War of 1812 and subsequently served in Canadian Volunteers with United States Army, died in NY
Abraham Markle	Ulster County, Province of New York	Terre Haute, Indiana, United States	Left Canada during War of 1812 and joined Canadian Volunteers with United States Army as a Major; died in the US
Marshall Spring Bidwell	Stockbridge, Massachusetts, United States	New York, NY	Forced to leave Canada due in involvement in 1837 Rebellion, became New York State lawyer, died in NYC
Peter Perry	Ernestown, Upper Canada	Saratoga Springs, New York, United States	Died after visiting Bidwell in the US
Hiram Norton	Vermont, United States	Lockport, Illinois, United States	Fled Canada due to involvement in 1837 Rebellion; became a flour mill owner/operator; died in US
Charles Duncombe	Connecticut, United States	Hicksville, California, United States	Fled Canada due to involvement in 1837 Rebellion, became California State Assemblyman 1859 and later as a county representative of the Sacramento County 1863–1867; died in California
William Lyon Mackenzie	Dundee, Scotland	Toronto, Province of Canada	Fled Canada due to involvement in 1837 Rebellion, became US citizen and later returned to Canada 1849; died in Toronto
Jesse Ketchum	Spencertown, New York, United States	Buffalo, NY, United States	Retired and moved from Canada to Buffalo, New York in 1845 and died in there in 1867
Henry Yager	Claverack, New York, United States	Dane County, Wisconsin, United States	Left Canada with family as dairy farmer in Dane County, Wisconsin and died there
Robert Alway	Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, Great Britain	Republic of Texas	Fled Canada due to involvement in 1837 Rebellion and died shortly after arriving in Texas
David William Smith	Salisbury, England	Alnwick, Northumberland, England	Left Canada and return to England in 1804 and became a property manager; died in England

Buildings housing the Legislative Assembly

• 
  The first Parliament of Ontario (Upper Canada) in Toronto (York) on Front Street at Parliament Street, pre-1812
• 
  The second Parliament of Ontario (Upper Canada) in Toronto (York), 1818–1824
• 
  The third Parliament Building in York, 1832, on Front Street between Simcoe and John St.

• Navy Hall at Newark (1792)
• First (1793–1813) and second (1820–1824) Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada at York

From 1824 to 1832, the Assembly sat at temporary locations due to the fire that destroyed the second home:

• Residence of the Chief Justice of Upper Canada (1824-1829)
• Old York County Court House on King between Toronto and Church Streets (1829–1832)
• Ballroom of York Hotel at York – one session 1813
• York General Hospital (1824–1829)
• Third Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada (1832–1840)

See also

• Legislative Council of Upper Canada
• Executive Council of Upper Canada
• Lieutenant Governors of Upper Canada, 1791–1841
• Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

References

• Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology, Frederick H. Armstrong, Toronto : Dundurn Press, 1985. ISBN 0-919670-92-X

External links

• James G. Chewett, "The Upper Canada almanac, and provincial calendar, for the year of Our Lord 1827: being the third after bissextile or leap year, and the eighth year of the reign of His Majesty [King G]eorge the Fourth ..." (York (Toronto): Robert Stanton, 1827), 76, ii pp.
• James G. Chewett, "The Upper Canada almanac and astronomical calendar for the year of Our Lord 1828: being bissextile or leap year and the ninth year of the reign of His Majesty King George the Fourth ..." (York (Toronto): Robert Stanton, 1828), 76, ii pp.
• James G. Chewett, "The Upper Canada almanac, and provincial calendar, for the year of Our Lord 1831: being the third after bissextile, or leap year, and the second year of the reign of His Majesty King William the Fourth ..." (York (Toronto): Robert Stanton, 1831), 103, ii pp.
• Government of Ontario site