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The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house 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 th ...
. 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 upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
, 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 were united into the Province of Canada. 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
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 1796–1802 * Henry Allcock 1803–1806 * Thomas Scott 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) 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 Lie ...
: *
Navy Hall Navy Hall is a wooden structure encased within a stone structure that was the site of Upper Canada's (Ontario's) first provincial parliament, from 1792 to 1796. It is a unit of Fort George National Historic Site located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, O ...
at Newark (1792) * first (1793–1813) and second (1820–1824) Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada 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 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 Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada (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 across from Kingston Custom House (294 King Street East) * In a tent and later at
Navy Hall Navy Hall is a wooden structure encased within a stone structure that was the site of Upper Canada's (Ontario's) first provincial parliament, from 1792 to 1796. It is a unit of Fort George National Historic Site located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, O ...
or Freemasons Hall in Newark - September 1792 – 1796 * Various buildings that housed Parliament at York - 1797-1841


See also

* Parliament of Canada *
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 Lie ...
*
Legislative Council of Lower Canada The Legislative Council of Lower Canada was the upper house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The upper house consisted of appointed councillors who voted on bills passed up by the Legislative Assembly ...
*
Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of el ...
* Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada * Legislative Council of the Province of Canada * Legislative Assembly of Ontario


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


''Ontario's Historical Plaques''
Parliaments of Upper Canada * Defunct upper houses in Canada 1792 establishments in Upper Canada 1841 disestablishments in Upper Canada