Special Council of Lower Canada
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The Special Council of Lower Canada was an appointed body which administered
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 ...
until the Union Act of 1840 created the
Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
. Following the
Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now south ...
, on March 27, 1838, the Constitutional Act of 1791 was suspended and both the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council were dissolved. The Act of Union united Upper and Lower Canada into a single province with a single parliament, consisting of an upper and lower house. Upon the first meeting of this parliament, the Special Council was dissolved. In November 1839, the Special Council approved proposals made by Governor Sydenham for the union of the two Canadas. There were three Special Councils: * the first, consisting of 24 members, was appointed by the acting Governor General, Sir
John Colborne Field Marshal John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, (16 February 1778 – 17 April 1863) was a British Army officer and colonial governor. After taking part as a junior officer in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, Sir Ralph Abercromby's expedi ...
, and served from April 2, 1838 to June 1, 1838, when its members were dismissed by the newly arrived Governor General,
Lord Durham Earl of Durham is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1833 for the Whig politician and colonial official John Lambton, 1st Baron Durham. Known as "Radical Jack", he played a leading role in the passing of the Gre ...
within a week of his arrival in Canada. * the second, appointed by Lord Durham, existed from June 28, 1838 to November 2, 1838. This council was much smaller than the first had been, with an initial membership of five (later expanded to seven). All the members of Durham's Council were British officials who had arrived in Canada as part of his entourage. * the third, appointed by Sir John Colborne, existed from November 2, 1838 to February 10, 1841. This consisted of the same members who had been appointed in April. Lord Sydenham, who assumed office as Governor General in 1839, added twelve new members in three rounds of appointments in 1839 and 1840. None of the members of Durham's second Council served on the third Council.


Lists of Members of the Special Council


Presiding Officer

The presiding member of the Special Council acted as Speaker. * James Cuthbert Jr. 1838 *
Sir James Stuart, 1st Baronet Sir James Stuart, 1st Baronet of Oxford (March 2, 1780 – July 14, 1853) was a lawyer, judge, and political figure in Lower Canada. Personal life He was born in Fort Hunter, New York, in 1780, the son of the Anglican priest John Stuart, a ...
1839-1841


Meeting Venue

In 1838 the Council met at Government House in Montreal and also at
Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
. From 1839 to 1841 the Council met in Montreal only.


See also

*
Constitutional history of Canada The constitutional history of Canada begins with the 1763 Treaty of Paris, in which France ceded most of New France to Great Britain. Canada was the colony along the St Lawrence River, part of present-day Ontario and Quebec. Its government under ...


Notes


External links


Assemblée nationale du Québec (French)
{{Authority control Political history of Quebec Lower Canada 1838 establishments in Lower Canada 1841 disestablishments *
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 ...