The Legislative Council of Upper Canada 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 ...

governing the province of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

. Modelled after the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, it was created by the

Constitutional Act of 1791 The Clergy Endowments (Canada) Act 1791, commonly known as the Constitutional Act 1791 (), was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which passed under George III. The current short title has been in use since 1896. History The act refor ...

. It was specified that the council should consist of at least seven members. Members were appointed for life but could be dropped for non-attendance. The first nine members of the council were appointed on 12 July 1792. The speaker was usually the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench. The Legislative Council was dissolved on 10 February 1841 when Upper and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

were united into the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

. Some members were reappointed to the Legislative Council of the united Province. Unlike the other three provinces that would initially make up the Dominion of Canada, a provincial Legislative Council was not re-established for Ontario when the province entered Confederation in 1867.

List of Members of the Legislative Council

Notes: # Jacob Mountain was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec; he never attended a session but was not dropped. # Angus McIntosh never attended a session but was not dropped; he returned to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1831. # James Gordon was re-appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada in October 1845. # Alexander Grant, Jr. and Abraham Nelles did not attend after 1832.

Speakers

The Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench was usually the Speaker of the Council: *

William Osgoode William Osgoode (March 1754 – January 17, 1824) was the first Chief Justice of Upper Canada (now known as Ontario, Canada). Life and career He was born William Osgood in London, England, in 1754 to William Osgood (died 1767). His family wa ...

1792–1794 * Peter Russell 1795–1796 *

John Elmsley John Elmsley (1762 – April 29, 1805) was Chief Justice of Upper Canada and afterwards Lower Canada. In both of the Canadas he served as President of the Executive Council and Speaker of the Legislative Council. During the Hunter administr ...

1796–1802 *

Henry Allcock Henry Allcock (baptised January 26, 1759 – February 22, 1808) was a judge and political figure in Upper and Lower Canada. His family was from Edgbaston and he was born in Birmingham, England in 1759 and studied law at Lincoln's Inn in Lon ...

1803–1806 *

Thomas Scott Thomas Scott may refer to: Australia * Thomas Hobbes Scott (1783–1860), Anglican clergyman and first Archdeacon of New South Wales * Thomas Scott (Australian politician) (1865–1946), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Thomas Sco ...

1806–1816 *

William Dummer Powell William Dummer Powell (November 5, 1755 - September 6, 1834) was a Loyalist lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. Early life and education Born at Boston, Massachusetts, he was named for his grandmother's brother William Dummer ...

1816–1825 *

William Campbell (jurist) Sir William Campbell (2 August 1758 – 18 January 1834) was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Upper Canada and a resident of York, Upper Canada. He also held political appointments in both Nova Scotia and Upper Canada. He was born in ...

1825–1829 *

Sir John Beverley Robinson, 1st Baronet, of Toronto Sir John Beverley Robinson, 1st Baronet, (26 July 1791 – 31 January 1863) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was considered the leader of the Family Compact, a group of families which effectively controlled the ea ...

1829–1840 *

Jonas Jones Jonas Jones (May 19, 1791 – July 30, 1848) was a lawyer, judge, farmer, and political figure in Upper Canada. Life Jones was born in Augusta Township, Upper Canada in 1791, the son of Ephraim Jones. He was educated at John Strachan's s ...

April 1839–June 1840 (interim)

Buildings housing the Legislative Council

The Legislative Council sat in the same building as the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lis ...

: *

Navy Hall Navy Hall is a wooden structure encased within a stone structure that was the site of Upper Canada's (Ontario's) Parliament of Upper Canada, first provincial parliament, from 1792 to 1796. It is a unit of Fort George National Historic Site located ...

at Newark (1792) * first (1793–1813) and second (1820–1824)

Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada The Ontario Legislative Building (french: L'édifice de l'Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is a structure in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It houses the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and the viceregal suite of the Lieutenant Governor ...

at York * residence of the Chief Justice of Upper Canada (1813–1820) * old York County Court House on King between Toronto and Church Streets (1829–1832) * ballroom of

York Hotel York Hotel may refer to: * York Hotel, Kalgoorlie, a heritage hotel in Western Australia * York Hotel, Adelaide, a 19th century Australian hotel developed by C. A. Hornabrook * York Hotel, Redcar, an English hotel that was the site of the York ...

at York - one session 1813 *

York General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

(1824–1829) * third

(1832–1840)

Meeting Places

* St. George's Church, Kingston - July 1792; Church demolished 1825 (replaced with St. George's Cathedral), site now

Kingston Market Square Kingston City Hall is the seat of local government in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Occupying a full city block facing Lake Ontario in Kingston's downtown, the city hall is a prominent building constructed in the Neoclassical style with a landmark ...

across from Kingston Custom House (294 King Street East) * In a tent and later at

or Freemasons Hall in Newark - September 1792 – 1796 * Various buildings that housed Parliament at York - 1797-1841

References

*''Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology'', Frederick H. Armstrong, Toronto : Dundurn Press, 1985. {{ISBN, 0-919670-92-X *

Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (''DCB''; french: Dictionnaire biographique du Canada) is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Canada. The ''DCB'', which was initiated in 1959, is a ...

, University of Toronto Press and Les Presses de l'Université Laval.

External links