Upper Canada

Upper Canada is an early name for the land at the upstream end of the Saint Lawrence River in early North America – the territory south of Lake Nipissing and north of the St. Lawrence River and Lakes Ontario and Erie plus the eastern shoreline of Georgian Bay and the northern shoreline of Lake Superior. This area is the ancestor of the southern part of the present day province of Ontario, Canada.

Government

This territory passed into British hands with the Treaty of Paris (1763). It was incorporated into the Province of Quebec by the Quebec Act of 1774. Upper Canada became a political entity in 1791 with the passage, in 1790, of the Constitutional Act by the Parliament of Great Britain. The Act divided the Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. The division was effected so that Loyalist American settlers and British immigrants in Upper Canada could have British laws and institutions, and the French-speaking population of Lower Canada could maintain French civil law and the Catholic religion. At the time Upper Canada was created, the British still possessed the territory that later became the State of Michigan.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Paris (1763) - Province of Quebec - Quebec Act - 1791 - Constitutional Act - Great Britain - Lower Canada - Loyalist - British - Michigan

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The colony was administered by a lieutenant-governor, legislative council, and legislative assembly. The first lieutenant-governor was John Graves Simcoe. On February 1, 1796 the capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York (now Toronto), which was judged to be less vulnerable to attack by the Americans.

Related Topics:
Lieutenant-governor - Legislative council - Legislative assembly - John Graves Simcoe - February 1 - 1796 - Niagara-on-the-Lake - York - Toronto

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