Durham, the Act of Union and Responsible Government

Let's start with a question

Who should have the final say in running a country: a governor sent from far away, or the leaders chosen by the people who live there?

Today the answer seems obvious. In 1838 it was not. Between 1838 and 1849, the colonies moved from the first answer toward the second, without another rebellion.

Lord Durham's Report (1839)

After the rebellions, Britain sent Lord Durham to investigate. He arrived in 1838 and delivered his report in 1839. He made two big recommendations:

1. Unite Upper and Lower Canada into one colony.
2. Give the colony responsible government for local matters: the governor should choose advisers who had the support of the elected assembly.

Durham described the conflict in Lower Canada as "two nations warring in the bosom of a single state". He also wanted French Canadians to be assimilated into English-speaking culture, and called them "a people with no history, and no literature". French Canadians were deeply offended. Writers like François-Xavier Garneau responded by writing histories of French Canada.

The Act of Union (1840)

Britain passed the Act of Union in 1840. On February 10, 1841, Upper and Lower Canada became the Province of Canada, with two parts: Canada West and Canada East.

• One legislature, with equal seats for each part (42 each), even though Canada East had more people. This favoured English speakers.
• English was the only official language of the legislature's records.
• Upper Canada's large debts were shared with Lower Canada.
• Kingston was the first capital.
• Britain did not grant responsible government yet.

Baldwin and LaFontaine

Many French Canadians saw the union as an attack on their language and culture. Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine, a French-Canadian Reformer, decided to work within the system. He formed an alliance with Robert Baldwin, a Reformer from Canada West. Together, English- and French-speaking Reformers could win a majority.

Their friendship was practical and real. When LaFontaine lost his election in 1841, Baldwin helped him win a seat in York, near Toronto. Later, LaFontaine's supporters helped Baldwin win a seat in Rimouski in Canada East.

Responsible government, 1848

• In February 1848, Nova Scotia became the first colony in British North America to gain responsible government, after years of campaigning by journalist and politician Joseph Howe.
• In March 1848, the Reformers won a majority in the Province of Canada and the LaFontaine–Baldwin government took office. The governor general, Lord Elgin, accepted their advice on local matters.
• In 1848, French was again allowed in the legislature, and in 1849 Elgin read the Speech from the Throne in both English and French.

The big test, 1849: The government passed the Rebellion Losses Bill to pay people in Canada East whose property had been damaged in 1837–38. Many Tories were furious, saying it rewarded rebels. Elgin disagreed personally with some of it, but he signed it on April 25, 1849, because it had the support of the elected majority. That night an angry mob in Montreal burned the Parliament buildings. Responsible government survived the test.

Who still had no voice?

Responsible government was a big step toward democracy, but it was not democracy for everyone. Only men who owned enough property could vote. Women could not vote; a few property-owning women in Lower Canada had voted in earlier years, but a law in 1849 ended that. First Nations had no say in the government that made decisions about their lands. Many poor men, including many working people, could not vote either.