1. The formation of the Canadian federal system (1840-1896)

2. The Act of Union
What is it?
Why did it happen?
Why should we care?

3. The Act of Union: What is it?
A law passed by the British Parliament in 1840 which unites the colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada, creating the new Province of Canada (a.k.a. United Canada)

4. The Act of Union: Causes
Lower Canada Rebellions:
Between , the Patriotes led rebellions, demanding responsible government
Durham Report:
Following the rebellion of the Patriotes, Lord Durham was sent to the colonies to investigate the causes of the rebellion.
In his report, Lord Durham suggested uniting the two colonies (Upper and Lower Canada) into one colony: The Province of Canada
After unification, the French Canadians would make up the minority of the colony’s population, thereby making it easier to assimilate them.

5. The Act of Union: What Changed?
Territorial Change:
Upper and Lower Canada are united, to create a new province: United Canada (a.k.a Province of Canada)
Lower Canada = Canada East
Upper Canada = Canada West

6. Which Territories/Colonies are not part of united Canada??

7. Act of Union: Political Changes: What Changed and What stayed the same?

8. Act of Union: What Changed?
2. Political Change:
The two legislative assemblies of Upper and Lower Canada were united into one legislative assembly.
The Assembly is composed of an equal number of members from Canada East and Canada West.
42 reps from Canada East
42 reps from Canada West
**BUT: The Governor still appoints the legislative and executive councils.
NO REPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT!  42 42

9. The Act of Union: Problems/Tensions
French Minority in the Legislative Assembly:
The population of Lower Canada was greater than that of Upper Canada. However, this was not reflected in the number of elected representatives (both were allowed 42 representatives).
Ouest/Upper
Est/Lower
Who benefited most from equal representation? Explain.

10. The Act of Union: Problems/Tensions
English became the Official Lanugage:
Since the majority of the representatives were english-speaking, it was decided that English would be the official language of the Legislative Assembly.
The French language was banned in all government institutions
This reinforced one of the goals of the Act of Union: to assimilate the French-Canadiens population.

11. Act of Union: Problems/Tensions
3. Fusion of Debts:
The debts of Upper and Lower Canada were combined.
This was a problem for the French-Canadiens because the debt of Upper Canada was much greater than that of Lower Canada
Lower Canada had to help repay part of Upper Canada’s debts.
Why does this fusion of debt disadvantage Lower Canada?

12. Act Of Union: Element of Continuity
1. French Civil Law Maintained in Lower Canada:
The French-Canadiens could continue to practice civil law, while Upper Canada applied British civil law (common law)
British criminal law was applied throughout the province of Canada

13. Review Questions
The Act of Union in 1840 created a new British colony. What is the name of this territory?
Identify and explain a cause of the Act of Union.
The Act of Union granted Upper and Lower Canada an equal number of representatives. How did this effect Lower Canada?
How did the Act of Union disadvantage Lower Canada economically?
Did the act of Union establish responsible government? Explain.