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The Canadas is the collective name for the provinces of Lower Canada and
The two colonies were created in 1791 with the passage of the ''
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 ...
, two historical British colonies in present-day Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The two colonies were formed in 1791, when the British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
passed the '' Constitutional Act'', splitting the colonial Province of 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 thirteen p ...
into two separate colonies. The Ottawa River formed the border between Lower and Upper Canada.
The Canadas were merged into a single entity in 1841, shortly after Lord Durham published his '' Report on the Affairs of British North America''. His report held several recommendations, most notably union of the Canadas. Acting on his recommendation, the British Parliament passed the ''Act of Union 1840
The ''British North America Act, 1840'' (3 & 4 Victoria, c.35), also known as the ''Act of Union 1840'', (the ''Act'') was approved by Parliament in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10, 1841, in Montreal. It abolished the legislatures of Lower ...
''. The Act went into effect in 1841, uniting the Canadas into the Province of Canada.
The terms "Lower" and "Upper" refer to the colony's position relative to the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River.
* Lower Canada covered the southeastern portion of the present-day province of 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 ...
, Canada, and (until 1809) the Labrador region of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...
.
* Upper Canada covered what is now the southern portion of the province of Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
and the lands bordering Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To ...
and Lake Superior.
History
The two colonies were created in 1791 with the passage of the ''Constitutional Act 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 ...
''. As a result of the influx of Loyalists
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
from the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, the Province of 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 thirteen p ...
was divided into two new colonies, consisting of Lower and Upper Canada. The creation of Upper Canada was in response to the influx of United Empire Loyalist settlers, who desired a colonial administration modelled under British institutions and common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...
, especially British laws of land tenure. Conversely, Lower Canada maintained most of the French Canadian institutions guaranteed under the Quebec Act
The Quebec Act 1774 (french: Acte de Québec), or British North America (Quebec) Act 1774, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which set procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec. One of the principal components of the Act w ...
, such as the French civil law system.
In 1838 Lord Durham was sent to the colonies to examine the causes for rebellion in the Canadas. His report on the colonies recommended that the two colonies should be united, and the introduction of responsible government. The British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
would eventually act on the former suggestion, with the passage of the ''Act of Union 1840
The ''British North America Act, 1840'' (3 & 4 Victoria, c.35), also known as the ''Act of Union 1840'', (the ''Act'') was approved by Parliament in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10, 1841, in Montreal. It abolished the legislatures of Lower ...
''. The ''Act of Union'' went into force in 1841, and saw the Canadas united into the Province of Canada. However, the Act did not establish responsible government, which was not introduced until 1848.
See also
*The Californias
The Californias ( Spanish: ''Las Californias''), occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican s ...
* The Carolinas
*The Dakotas
The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econo ...
* The Floridas
*Rhodesia (region)
Rhodesia, known initially as Zambesia, is a historical region in southern Africa whose formal boundaries evolved between the 1890s and 1980. Demarcated and named by the British South Africa Company (BSAC), which governed it until the 1920s, it ...
*The Virginias
The Virginias (sometimes also known as the two Virginias) is a region in the United States comprising the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. If they were a single state (as they were until the Civil War), the Virginias would have a combi ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadas Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas States and territories established in 1791 1841 disestablishments in North America History of Ontario by location History of Quebec by location Pre-Confederation Quebec Former colonies in North America 1791 establishments in the British Empire States and territories disestablished in 1841