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Hierarchy of power under the Constitutional Act of 1791.
The Constitutional Act of 1791 was an Act of the
Parliament of Great Britain
(1791 (31 Geo. 3) C A P. XXXI., long title An Act to repeal certain
Parts of an Act, passed in the fourteenth Year of his Majesty's
Reign, intituled, An Act for making more effectual Provision for
the Government of the Province of Quebec, in North America; and to
make further Provision for the Government of the said
Province.) which changed the government of the province of Quebec to accommodate the many
English-speaking settlers, known as the United Empire Loyalists, who had arrived
from the United
States following the American Revolution. Quebec was
divided in two when the act took effect on December 26, 1791. The
western half became Upper Canada (now southern Ontario) and the eastern half
Lower Canada (now
southern Quebec). The names Upper and Lower Canada were given
according to their location on the St. Lawrence River, as opposed
to geographical location. Upper Canada received English law and
institutions, while Lower Canada retained French law and
institutions, including seigneurial land
tenure, and the privileges accorded to the Roman Catholic Church. Representative governments were established
in both colonies with the creation of a legislative assembly;
Quebec had not previously had representative government. Along with
each assembly there was also an appointed upper house, the
Legislative Council, created for wealthy landowners; within the
Legislative Council was the Executive Council, acting as a cabinet
for the governor. The Constitutional Act also tried to create an established church by creating clergy reserves,
that is, grants of land reserved for the support of the Protestant clergy.
Canada in
1791 after the
Act.
The constitutional act in full.
In practice, income from the rent or sale of these reserves,
which constituted one-seventh of the territory of Upper and Lower
Canada, went exclusively to the Church of England and, from 1824 on,
the Church
of Scotland. These reserves created many difficulties in later
years, making economic development difficult and creating
resentment against the Anglican church, the Family Compact,
and the Château Clique. The act was problematic
for both English speakers and French speakers; the French Canadians
felt they might be overshadowed by English settlement and increased
rights for Protestants, while the new English-speaking
settlers felt the French Canadians still had too much power.
However, both groups preferred the act and the institutions it
created to the Quebec
Act which it replaced. The act is often seen as a watershed in
the development of French Canadian nationalism as it provided for a province
(Lower Canada) that was seen by les Canadiens to be their
own, separate from the Anglo Upper Canada. The disconnect between
this French Canadian ideal of Lower Canada as a distinct, national
homeland and the reality of the continued Anglo political and
economic dominance of the province after 1791 led to discontent and
a desire for reform among various segments of the Canadien
populace. The French Canadian frustration at the nature of Lower
Canadian political and economic life in "their" province eventually
helped fuel the Lower Canada Rebellion of
1837-38.
See also
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