Lower Canada

Province of Lower Canada Bas-Canada
British colony
← 1791–1841 →   →
Flag
Map of Lower Canada (green)
Capital	Quebec
Language(s)	French, English
Religion	Protestantism, Roman Catholicism
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Sovereign
- 1791–1820	George III
- 1837–1841	Victoria
Lieutenant-Governor and Executive Council of Lower Canada	See list of Lieutenant-Governors
Legislature	Parliament of Lower Canada
- Upper house	Legislative Council
- Lower house	Legislative Assembly
Historical era	British Era
- Constitutional Act of 1791	December 26, 1791
- Act of Union 1840	February 10, 1841
Currency	Canadian pound
Today part of	Quebec Newfoundland and Labrador

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 modern-day Province of Quebec, Canada, and the Labrador region of the modern-day Province of Newfoundland and Labrador (until the Labrador region was transferred to Newfoundland in 1809).

History

The Province of Lower Canada was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791 from the partition of the British colony of the Province of Quebec (1763–91) into the Province of Lower Canada and the Province of Upper Canada. The prefix "lower" in its name refers to its geographic position farther downriver from the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River than its contemporary Upper Canada, present-day southern Ontario.

Lower Canada consisted of part of former French colony of New France, populated mainly by French Canadians, which was ceded to Great Britain after that empire's victory in the Seven Years' War, also called the French and Indian Wars in the United States. Other parts of New France ceded to Britain became the Colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Rebellion

Main article: Lower Canada Rebellion

Like Upper Canada, there was political unrest and a rebellion challenged the British rule of the predominantly French population. After the Patriote Rebellion was crushed by the British army and Loyal volunteers, the 1791 Constitution was suspended on March 27, 1838 and a special council was appointed to administer the colony.

The provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada were combined as the United Province of Canada in 1841, when The Union Act came into force. Their separate legislatures were combined into a single parliament with equal representation for both constituent parts, even if Lower Canada had more population.

Constitution

Constitution of Lower Canada in 1791

The Province of Lower Canada inherited the mixed set of French and English institutions that existed in the Province of Quebec during the 1763–91 period and which continued to exist later in Canada-East (1841–67) and ultimately in the current Province of Quebec (1867–).

Population

Main article: Population of Canada by year

Population of Lower Canada, 1806 to 1841

Year	Census estimate
1806	250,000
1814	335,000
1822	427,465
1825	479,288
1827	473,475
1831	553,134
1841	650,000

See also

• the Canadas
• French colonial empire
• French and Indian War
• Province of Quebec (1763–1791)
• Former colonies and territories in Canada
• Canada East, period after the Act of Union (1840)
• List of lieutenant governors of Quebec
• Ottawa River timber trade
• Timeline of Quebec history
• National Patriots' Day

Further reading

• Robert Christie. A History of the Late Province of Lower Canada, Quebec City: T. Cary/R. Montreal: Worthington, 1848–1855 (Internet Archive: All 6 volumes)
• François-Xavier Garneau. History of Canada : from the time of its discovery till the union year, Montreal : J. Lovell, 1860 (Internet Archive: All 3 Volumes)

External links

• Lower Canada from The Canadian Encyclopedia