The Legislative Council of Manitoba (french: links=no, Conseil législatif du Manitoba) was the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the

Legislature of Manitoba The Legislature of Manitoba is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the King of Canada in Right of Manitoba, represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, and the unicameral ...

. Created in 1870 and abolished in 1876, the council was the only provincial upper house in Canada that was not a direct or indirect continuation of a pre-confederation upper house. It was also the first provincial upper house to be abolished.

History

The council was created under the provisions of the ''

Manitoba Act The ''Manitoba Act, 1870'' (french: link=no, Loi de 1870 sur le Manitoba)Originally entitled (until renamed in 1982) ''An Act to amend and continue the Act 32 and 33 Victoria, chapter 3; and to establish and provide for the Government of the Pro ...

''. Even prior to Manitoba's entry into Confederation, the need for an upper house at the provincial level was seen to be questionable by many Canadians. However, the Francophone

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

population wanted to model the government in Manitoba on what had already been created for

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. There, the Legislative Council had been retained and was seen as a means to protect the interests of religious and linguistic minorities inside the province. In this, they easily gained the agreement of Prime Minister Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

, who firmly believed in the necessity of an unelected upper house. During its brief existence, members of the Legislative Council were appointed by the lieutenant governor of Manitoba. However, by 1874, the new province's finances were in trouble, and the government had to appeal to Ottawa for aid. By this time, Macdonald had been replaced as prime minister by Alexander Mackenzie. Mackenzie's government agreed to provide aid, but demanded that the Legislative Council be eliminated as a cost-cutting measure. The council initially resisted, rejecting bills to abolish itself in 1874 and 1875. Finally in 1876, following the mediation of Lieutenant Governor Alexander Morris who had promised the recalcitrant councillors lucrative government positions elsewhere, the Legislative Council was abolished.Winnipeg Free Press
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List of legislative councillors

References

External links

Manitoba's Legislative Council
''Manitoba Pageant'', Manitoba Historical Society Defunct upper houses in Canada {{Canada-poli-stub

History

List of legislative councillors

See also

References

External links