Lord Durham End of 1837 - Following the successful suppression of the rebellions, it (finally) became apparent to the British Government that they were not handling the situation in BNA very well. Just about lost their 2nd set of colonies in 50 years. 1838 - Queen Victoria appointed Lord Durham as the next Governor General and gave him the task of studying the situation in Upper & Lower Canada, and finding a way to fix the problem. 1839 – Durham finished putting together a report on the situation in the Canadas and what he felt were the best solutions. The first person to be knighted by Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria was only 17 when she was crowned queen of Great Britain. High Commissioner and Governor General of all Her Majesty’s provinces on the continent of North America (UC, LC, NB, NS) Situation= the cause of the Rebellion

Lord Durham’s Report Two Major recommendations in his report are: The two colonies should become one, called the United Province of Canada Instead of an English-dominated colony and a French dominated colony, there would only be 1 colony with an English majority This will ideally help to assimilate the French and remove the tensions between the two groups. The United Colony should have a responsible government Would be handled by the colonies Executive council and would be advised The governor stayed neutral but signed things by the executive council The executive council was not picked from the government but was chosen by leaders of other groups (legislative assembly) this is called “Responsible government” Members of the executive council would stay in the council if half of the legislative assembly supports them Go over Responsible Government paper. Talk about the way the elected groups added to the executive council. First recommendation was made to better assimilation of French Canadiens. Second and third recommendation is the key to the responsible government If executives were drawn from the majority party, it would strengthen the imperial connection and minimize the American influences. Lord Durham on having only English as the official language of his proposed government “The vain endeavour to preserve a French- Canadian nationality in the midst of Anglo- American colonies and states.” “The Superior political and practical intelligence of the English cannot be, for a moment, disputed.”

Three Corners What do you think of Lord Durham’s Report? You will be given a group and then discuss amongst your group where your group should move Discuss and come up with 3 key points that supports your decision You are going to try to persuade other groups to join your corner and leave their original corner After each group speaks, we will see if anyone wants to move to a new corner. Corner #1: I support Lord Durham fully. Corner #2: I disagree with Lord Durham’s plan and ideals. Corner #3: I would agree with Lord Durham if he makes some changes. 3 corners Family Compact (5 in each group) Chateau Clique Regular English People (land owners) Regular French People (land owners) British Government (appointed)

The Act of Union The British government rejected Lord Durham’s suggestion for responsible government, but agreed on creating one legislature for two Canadas. In July 1840, The British government passes the Act of Union, and on February 10, 1840, under the watch of the governor Lord Sydenham, Upper Canada and Lower Canada united under one government. The terms further upset the relationship between British and French Canadians. The terms included following; The members of Council would only answer to the governor and not to the elected members of the assembly. The British government only agreed to the united Canada to weaken French influence.

The terms of Act of Union Upper Canada and Lower Canada would be united under one government. Upper Canada would now known as “Canada West” and Lower Canada as “Canada East.” The Assembly would have equal number of representatives from both regions. United Province of Canada would share their debts. English would be the only official language of the Government. Kingston became the Capital of United Province of Canada. (moved to Montreal in 1844)

Act of Union 1840 2 separate colonies: Upper Canada, Lower Canada Before 2 separate colonies: Upper Canada, Lower Canada Colonies have completely separate governments; in Lower Canada, French have a majority in the Legislative Assembly Governor and Crown have the authority to disallow bills passed by the Legislative Assembly. No official language specified in Government (92 Resolutions were presented in French) Government is Representative, not Responsible After Union of Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. The areas of Upper and Lower Canada to have an equal number of seats in the newly united province. French are now a minority. Governor and Crown have the authority to disallow bills passed by the Legislative Assembly.  Governor to keep the powers held before the union. All official government documents to be in English only. Government is Representative, not Responsible

Unfair Union? Having an equal amount of representatives from each region might sound fair but it was not at all fair in reality. Population in Canada West= 480,000 Canada East= 670,000 The debt of Canada West at the time of the Union was far greater than that of Canada East. (1.2million Pound vs. 95,000 Pound) - Having equal number of representatives were unfair to Lower Canada because Lower Canada had considerably more peoples than Upper Canada (670,000 vs. 480,000) By under representing the French, English Canada would soon dominate the government and speed up the assimilation process. This wasn’t Lord Durham’s idea. He wanted the “rep by pop”

Unpopular Union Lower Canada Upper Canada Canadiens were convinced that the Union would lead to assimilation. Religious figures and political leaders opposed the Union which prevented French identity within the Union. Upper Canada Canadians generally feared French and Catholic domination. Family Compact opposed the Union. Needed to cooperation of Lower Canadiens to make the Union work. Lead by the alliance of Reformers, Robert Baldwin and Louis Hippolyte LaFontaine Lower Canada= Loss of French language from the gov’t, Equal # of assembly seats, sharing of debts all lead to eventual French assimilation.

Louis Hippolyte LaFontaine A lawyer and former Patriote. Leader of French Canadien moderate reformers. He argued that the only way to ensuring the survival of French Culture in Lower Canada is to Winning the Responsible Government. Ensuring the formation of progressive administration requiring Canadien cooperation. LaFontaine did not take part in the rebellion. Leader of Patriote= Papineau Initially viewed as a traitor by the Francophone Reformers for suggesting this view. When it became clear that East Canada won’t be able to separate from the West, LaFontaine’s options began to appear realistic and he won over his detrators. Refused to speak English in the assembly, which eventually lead to the Repealing the clause in the Act of Union, prohibiting the use of French.

Robert Baldwin Baldwin remained neutral during the rebellion. Met with Lord Durham while Durham was visiting Toronto, and presented Durham with a detailed memo dealing with the principle of Responsible Government. Baldwin commanded respect and exercised moral leadership by reason of his character. Durham most likely used Baldwin’s memo to create his own version of Responsible Government He embodied the cherished virtues of adherence to honour, duty and principle. Each time when he gained the office, he left by resignation rather than compromise his principles.

The Great Political Alliance Together, Baldwin and LaFontaine dominated the Assembly through the 1840s. Reformers dominated the election in 1848. Lord Elgin, allowed the members of the majority to take office and form a government On March 10, 1848 “the birth of democracy in Canada” lead by LaFontaine, the Responsible Government was created.

Rebellion Losses Bill The Rebellion Losses Bill An Act to provide for the Indemnification of Parties in Lower Canada whose Property was destroyed during the Rebellion in the years 1837 and 1838 was a controversial law enacted by the legislature of the Province of Canada in 1849. It was passed and given assent by Lord Elgin enacted to compensate Lower Canadians who lost property during the Rebellions of 1837 with measures similar to those providing compensation in Upper Canada.

Controversy, why? compensation in Lower Canada was seen as "giving money to the rebels“  Because rebellion was more widespread Gave money back for damage caused by the Army (considered disloyal to the Crown) The bill created anger with English speakers in Lower Canada and led to weeks of riots and burning of the parliament building (then located in Montreal) Lord Elgin… Hated in Canada… Hated in China. AFTERWARD: In command, during the second Opium War, he ordered the destruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, an architectural wonder with immeasurable collections of artworks and historic antiques, inflicting invaluable loss of cultural heritage. Subsequently, he submitted the Qing Dynasty to the unequal treaty of the Convention of Peking, adding Kowloon Peninsula to the British crown colony of Hong Kong.

I would like you to... Write a letter/news paper article responding to the Act of Union You should... Identify yourself. (French Canadien in East Canada, British Canadian in West Canada, British government official in Britain, Reformer, Elite, Poor, etc) How you feel about the Union, do you want to see any change? Give 2-3 specific reasons as to why. You are more than welcome to draw ideas from the past events, such as Durham Report, Rebellion of 1837. Hand in before you leave class today!