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Lower Canada

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Coordinates:50°N69°W / 50°N 69°W /50; -69

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1791–1841 British colony in North America

Province of Lower Canada

Province du Bas-Canada (French)

1791–1841

Union Flag (1801 version)^[1]^[2]

Seal

Anthem: "God Save the King/Queen"

Status

British colony

Capital

Quebec City

Common languages

French,English

Government

Château Clique oligarchy

• 1791–1820

• 1820–1830

• 1830–1837

• 1837–1841

Lieutenant-Governor andExecutive Council of Lower Canada

Legislature

Parliament of Lower Canada

• Upper house

Legislative Council

• Lower house

Legislative Assembly

Historical era

British Era

• Constitutional Act of 1791

26 December 1791

• Act of Union 1840

10 February 1841

Area

1839^[3]

534,185 km² (206,250 sq mi)

Population

• 1839^[3]

c. 700,000

Currency

Canadian pound

Preceded by

Succeeded by

Province of Quebec (1763–1791)

Province of Canada
Newfoundland Colony

Today part of

Canada

∟Quebec
∟Newfoundland and Labrador

TheProvince of Lower Canada (French:province du Bas-Canada) was aBritish colony on the lowerSaint Lawrence River and the shores of theGulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion of the currentProvince of Quebec and theLabrador region of the currentProvince of Newfoundland and Labrador (until the Labrador region was transferred to Newfoundland in 1809).^[4]

Lower Canada consisted of part of the former colony ofCanada ofNew France, conquered by Great Britain in theSeven Years' War ending in 1763 (also called theFrench and Indian War in the United States). Other parts of New France conquered by Britain became the Colonies ofNova Scotia,New Brunswick, andPrince Edward Island.

The Province of Lower Canada was created by theConstitutional Act 1791 from the partition of the British colony of theProvince of Quebec (1763–1791)^[5] into the Province of Lower Canada and theProvince of Upper Canada. The prefix "lower" in its name refers to its geographic position farther downriver from the headwaters of theSt. Lawrence River than its contemporary Upper Canada, present-day southern Ontario.

Lower Canada was abolished in 1841 when it and adjacent Upper Canada wereunited into theProvince of Canada.^[6]

History

[edit]

Establishment

[edit]

Before Lower Canada, there was theProvince of Quebec. The Province of Quebec was established from conquered French lands from theFrench and Indian War. TheQuebec Act officially set up governance in those lands and incorporated French elements into the province's government. The Province of Quebec was split in 1791 by theConstitutional Act 1791 into Lower Canada andUpper Canada. The Constitutional Act placed English Law in Upper Canada, and French Law and institutions in Lower Canada. Catholics were also granted the ability to freely practise.

Transition into the British Empire

[edit]

Society inNew France was deeply dependent on nobles, clergy, and the military. After the British conquest, British aristocrats and military personnel replaced their French equivalents. A conflict arose between the British aristocrats and the French-Canadian middle class, which was worsened by the introduction of parliamentarianism. By the end of the 18th century, the nobility's power was totally dependent on the colonial government. These problems came to a head when the British merchants wanted to build canals on theSt. Lawrence River to help with navigation across the river. The French nationalists held a majority in the legislative assembly and refused to allow the construction. This led to feelings of vulnerability in Lower Canada amongst British aristocracy.^[7]

Anglophone aristocrats, often sought the support of the governor, colonial bureaucrats or the government in London, mostly because they could never form a majority in the legislative assembly. Their political defeats led them to defend their colonial ties to Britain and support conservative ideas. At the turn of the century the Anglophones began to control more and more the economic activity in Lower Canada, which lead to the French-Canadians viewing them as a threat.^[7]

Political Tensions

[edit]

The tensions between Anglophone aristocrats and the French-Canadian middle class culminated in the formation of theParti canadien,^[7] the first Canadian political party.^[8] The party advocated for the independence of the legislature from the Lieutenant-Governor and fought plans to unifyUpper Canada and Lower Canada.^[7]

In 1810, theGovernor James Henry Craig had editors of the Parti canadien's newspaper arrested to suppress them before dissolving the legislature.Louis-Joseph Papineau, leader of the party, decided then to focus on more limited results and to stray away from being views as an extremist party. He gained the support of Irish Catholics in Lower Canada which also gave him the support of the clergy.^[7]

In 1827, after pressure from militant groups, Papineau became more radical and began to turn towards the idea of independence. Taking from the ideas of the American government, all positions that held power then became elected positions. This nationalism gave the Parti canadien support amongst French-Canadians but almost completely lost them the support of Anglophones in Lower Canada.^[7]

The clergy in Lower Canada were also very unhappy with the political situation at the time and wanted their old privileges restored. They wanted the ability to educate in Lower Canada and were briefly granted that ability in 1824, with the passage ofParish Schools Act. In 1829, the Parti canadien established assembly schools, which removed theCatholic Church from education, creating another political divide.

Rebellion

[edit]

Main article:Lower Canada Rebellion

The three divides in Lower Canada ultimately reached a breaking point. To combat this the British government adopted theRussell Resolutions, which rejected the92 Resolutions created by theParti canadien. After thePatriote Rebellion in theRebellions of 1837–1838^[9] was suppressed by government troops andLoyal volunteers, the1791 Constitution was suspended on 27 March 1838 and aspecial council was appointed to administer the colony. An abortive attempt by revolutionaryRobert Nelson to declare aRepublic of Lower Canada was quickly thwarted.

The provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada were combined as theUnited Province of Canada in 1841, when theAct of Union 1840 came into force. Their separate legislatures were combined into a single parliament with equal representation for both constituent parts, even though Lower Canada had a greater population.^[10]

William Lyon Mackenzie,rebellion chief inUpper Canada^[11]
Louis-Joseph Papineau,rebellion chief in Lower Canada^[12]

Constitution

[edit]

The Province of Lower Canada inherited the mixed set of French and English institutions that existed in the Province of Quebec during the 1763–1791 period and which continued to exist later in Canada-East (1841–1867) and ultimately in the current Province of Quebec (since 1867).

Population

[edit]

Main article:Population of Canada

Lower Canada was populated mainly byCanadiens, anethnic group who trace their ancestry toFrench colonists who settled inCanada from the 17th century onward.

Population of Lower Canada, 1806 to 1841
Year	Census estimate^[13]
1806	250,000
1814	335,000
1822	427,465
1825	479,288
1827	473,475
1831	553,134
1841	650,000

Transportation

[edit]

Current route marker seen along theChemin

Travelling around Lower Canada was mainly by water along theSt. Lawrence River. On land, the only long-distance route was theChemin du Roy, or King's Highway; it was built in the 1730s byNew France.^[14] The King's Highway was, in addition to the mail route, the primary means of long-distance passenger travel until steamboats (1815) and railways (1850s) began to challenge the royal road.^[14] The royal road's importance waned after the 1850s and would not re-emerge as a key means of transportation until thehighway system of Quebec was created in the 20th century.

References

[edit]

^"Early flags".Government of Canada. 28 August 2017. Retrieved15 January 2021.
^"Royal Union Flag".The Flags of Canada. Retrieved15 January 2021.
^The emigrant's handbook of facts concerning Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Cape of Good Hope, &c. Open Library. pp. 2–3.ISBN 978-0-665-95282-1. Retrieved22 December 2013.
^"Labrador–Canada Boundary". marianopolis. 2007. Retrieved20 March 2008.Labrador Act, 1809. – An imperial act (49 Geo. III, cap. 27), 1809, provided for the re-annexation to Newfoundland of 'such parts of the coast of Labrador from the River St John to Hudson's Streights, and the said Island of Anticosti, and all other smaller islands so annexed to the Government of Newfoundland by the said Proclamation of the seventh day of October one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three (except the said Islands of Madelaine) shall be separated from the said Government of Lower Canada, and be again re-annexed to the Government of Newfoundland.'
^Fernand Ouellet (4 March 2015)."Lower Canada".The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Historica Canada. Retrieved18 August 2019.
^James Maurice Stockford Careless; Richard Foot (4 March 2015)."Province of Canada 1841–1867".The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Historica Canada. Retrieved18 August 2019.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f"Lower Canada".www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved9 March 2025.
^"Parti canadien".www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved9 March 2025.
^David Mills; Richard Foot (20 March 2017)."Durham Report".The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Historica Canada. Retrieved18 August 2019.
^Jacques Monet, SJ; Richard Foot (4 March 2015)."Act of Union".The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Historica Canada. Retrieved18 August 2019.
^"Mackenzie, William Lyon".Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec. Retrieved19 November 2018.
^Marsh, James H. (9 February 2017) [January 20, 2008]."Louis-Joseph Papineau".The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Historica Canada. Retrieved18 August 2019.
^"Censuses of Canada 1665 to 1871: The 1800s (1806 to 1871)".Statistics Canada. 26 August 2015.Archived from the original on 17 December 2023.
^^a ^b"History".Le Chemin du Roy.Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved19 November 2018.

External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLower Canada.

Look upLower Canada in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Lower Canada – The Canadian Encyclopedia
Canada East and Lower Canada – Encyclopædia Britannica
Governors of Lower Canada –Histoire du Québec(in French)
Lower Canada – Quebec Parliament library(in French)

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