CANADA 



1123 



CANADA 



tario. To this day their descendants are the 

 most important single element in these prov- 

 inces. 



The Struggle for Responsible Government. 

 As the number of English-speaking settlers in- 

 creased it became evident that the Quebec 

 Act did not provide a satisfactory government. 

 In 1791, therefore, the Constitutional Act 

 divided the colony into Upper Canada and 

 Lower Canada. Upper Canada had a popula- 

 tion of 20,000, mostly United Empire loyalists; 

 Lower Canada had six times as many people, 

 mostly French-speaking. For fifty years Upper 

 and Lower Canada remained separate prov- 

 inces, each with a governor, an executive coun- 

 cil corresponding roughly to a Cabinet, a legis- 

 lative council and an assembly. The members 

 of the assembly were elected by the people, 

 and in theory the government was representa- 

 tive and responsible to the people. In prac- 

 tice, however, the governor and the officials 

 appointed by him were in absolute control. 

 For half a century the history of Upper and 

 Lower Canada is a struggle for complete repre- 

 sentative government (for details, see ON- 

 TARIO; QUEBEC; subhead History under each 

 article). A similar struggle was going on in 

 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. 



Bitter political strife was temporarily pushed 

 aside by the War of 1812 (which see), when 

 the Canadians, both French and English, rallied 

 in defense of their country. Nor did politics 

 in the East prevent the exploration and devel- 

 opment of the West. There were the two great 

 fur-trading companies, the Hudson's Bay Com- 

 pany and the Northwest Company, which later 

 joined forces. Settlements were made in the 

 Red River Valley (see MANITOBA, subhead His- 

 tory), and the explorations of Sir Alexander 

 Mackenzie, Simon Fraser and David Thompson 

 opened up this wilderness and laid the basis 

 for a great Dominion extending from the At- 

 lantic to the Pacific. 



War and expansion had no effect on the 

 political issues in the provinces. In Upper and 

 Lower Canada the radicals actually resorted 

 to open rebellion to secure the reformation of 

 the government. Under Louis J. Papineau in 

 Lower Canada and William Lyon Mackenzie in 

 Upper Canada, the radicals took arms, but at 

 the first contact with the militia the rebels 

 were dispersed. The rebellion was doomed to 

 failure, for only the most impulsive and 

 thoughtless of the people had been carried away 

 by the eloquence of a few leaders. The great 

 mass of the people were not merely loyal, but 



were disgusted with the violent methods of the 

 reformers. 



The rebellion of 1837 naturally brought dis- 

 credit on all the reformers, even Robert Bald- 

 win and the other moderate Liberals. But it 

 had one great result : It called the British gov- 

 ernment's attention to the critical state of 

 affairs in the Canadas and led to the Act of 

 Union. The Earl of Durham was appointed 

 Governor-General of British North America 

 and High Commissioner to investigate the 

 abuses in the government, and as a result of 

 his famous report, issued in 1839, Upper and 

 Lower Canada were reunited by act of the 

 British Parliament. 



The operation of the Act of Union disap- 

 pointed the reformers. The governor and the 

 legislative council appointed by the Crown still 

 maintained control. In the legislative assem- 

 bly the two provinces elected an equal number 

 of representatives, but the rapid growth of 

 Upper Canada soon caused a demand for repre- 

 sentation by population. Meanwhile the first 

 three governors, Sydenham, Bagot and Met- 

 calfe, refused to recognize the responsibility 

 of the executive council, or Ministry, but Lord 

 Elgin in 1848 admitted the principle of re- 

 sponsible government, and since that date Can- 

 ada has been practically self-governing. The 

 Rebellion Losses Bill, which was aimed to com- 

 pensate the citizens of Upper and Lower Can- 

 ada for their losses in the rebellion of 1837, was 

 bitterly opposed by many Conservatives, . be- 

 cause, they said, it put a premium on rebellion. 

 But when the supporters of the bill were vic- 

 torious in the general elections, Lord Elgin 

 forced the Conservative Ministry to resign and 

 called into office the leaders of the reformers, 

 Lafontaine and Baldwin. It is noteworthy that 

 as long as the Act of Union was in force the 

 Ministry always included the leader of the 

 dominant party in each province. 



In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick there 

 had been similar struggles for responsible gov- 

 ernment. The British government finally in- 

 structed the governor of Canada to rule in 

 accordance with the well-understood wishes of 

 the people "and summon to the Ministry those 

 who held the general confidence and esteem 

 of the province," and within a year or two 

 the Maritime Provinces compelled their gov- 

 ernors to adhere to the same principles. 



During the next fifteen years a succession of 

 Ministries carried on the government. There 

 was always some friction between Upper and 

 Lower Canada, and in each province there were 



