1st Parliament of the Province of Canada

First government and election

The Governor General, Lord Sydenham, appointed the first members to the Executive Council on February 13, 1841. All of the members were anglophones, with no francophones. They were appointed as advisors to the Governor General, who continued to exercise the executive powers of the government.

The first general election for the new Legislative Assembly was held in the spring of 1841. There was no single election date – members in different districts were elected on different days. The returning officer in each electoral district chose the date for the election in their district.

The Governor General, following the policy of assimilation set out in Lord Durham's Report, drew boundaries and chose the location of polling stations in Canada East in anglophone areas, in an effort to favour voters of British stock and to make it more difficult for francophone voters to exercise their franchise.

The election was marred by violence. In the district of Montreal, riots broke out in six counties. At St. Laurent, an English mob scattered French voters, and then when the Tories had a majority, it closed down the vote although only a hundred voters had voted in a district with a population of 60,000.

In the riding of Terrebonne in Canada East, the threat of a riot at the polling station forced Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, a proponent of responsible government, to withdraw his candidacy. In response, Robert Baldwin in Canada West, also a supporter of responsible government, proposed to his father, William Warren Baldwin, that they should assist Lafontaine's election. Baldwin senior was a candidate for a riding in the Toronto area. He withdrew his nomination to allow Lafontaine to stand for election. Lafontaine was elected.

Candidates at this time were loosely affiliated in early political parties, but party structure was not strong. Different parties were active in Canada East and Canada West. The election gave no single party group a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Governors General

One of the unusual features of the 1st Parliament was the high turnover in the position of governor general. Charles Poulett Thomson was the governor general from February 1841 until September 1841, when he died from tetanus resulting from a riding accident. His deputy, Major-General John Clitherow, immediately prorogued Parliament. Clitherow was replaced by the Administrator, Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Downes Jackson, shortly afterwards. Jackson acted as Administrator until January 1842, when Sir Charles Bagot was appointed Governor General. Bagot resigned the office in March, 1843 due to ill health, dying shortly afterwards. Sir Charles Metcalfe then took over, and stayed in office until November 1845. He retired to England and died of cancer shortly afterwards.

Legislative Assembly

Canada East

Members elected in the general election

The following members were elected to the Legislative Assembly from Canada East in the 1841 general election. The party affiliations are based on the biographies of individual members given by the National Assembly of Quebec, as well as votes in the Legislative Assembly. "Party" was a fluid concept, especially during the early years of the Province of Canada.

By-elections during the First Parliament

The following members were elected in by-elections during the First Parliament. The party affiliations are based on the biographies of individual members given by the National Assembly of Quebec, as well as votes in the Legislative Assembly.

Canada West

Members elected in the general election

The following members were elected to the Legislative Assembly from Canada West in the 1841 general election.

By-elections and election petitions during the First Parliament

The following members were elected in by-elections during the First Parliament, or installed as a result of election petitions challenging an election.

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Cornell, P.G., Underhill, F.H., Brown G.W., and Careless J.M.S., Upper Canadian politics in the 1850s, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1967).

References

1. J.O. Côté, [https://archive.org/details/politicalappoint00cotj_0/page/12 ''Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada, 1841 to 1860''] (Quebec: St. Michel and Darveau, 1860).
2. [https://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP7CH5PA3LE.html CBC: ''1841 – The First Election after the Act of Union''.]
3. Garner, Franchise and Politics in BNA, p. 99-100
4. This was the beginning of the Lafontaine-Baldwin alliance which ultimately led to responsible government in the Province of Canada.James H. Marsh, [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-friendship-that-brought-responsible-government-feature "Editorial: Baldwin, LaFontaine and Responsible Government"], ''Canadian Encyclopedia'', January 24, 2012.
5. [https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00952_1/13?r=0&s=4 "Return of the names of the Members chosen to serve in the Legislative Assembly of Canada"], Office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, Kingston, 14th. June, 1841, ''Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada'', 1st Parliament, 1st Session, 1841, pp. xi–xii.
6. J.O. Côté, [https://archive.org/details/politicalappoint00cotj_0/page/43/mode/1up ''Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada, 1841 to 1860''] (Quebec: St. Michel and Darveau, 1860), pp. 43–58.
7. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/membres/notices/index.html Québec Dictionary of Parliamentary Biography, from 1764 to the present].
8. Paul G. Cornell, [https://archive.org/details/alignmentofpolit0000corn ''Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841–67''] (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962; reprinted in paperback 2015), pp. 93–111.
9. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/dunscomb-john-william-3055/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: John William Dunscomb.]
10. [https://archive.org/details/politicalappoint00cotj_0/page/58 Côté, ''Political Appointments and Elections'': Notes to the First Parliament.]
11. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/ruel-augustin-guillaume-5227/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Augustin-Guillaume Ruel.]
12. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/yule-john-5777/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: John Yule.]
13. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/kimber-rene-joseph-3793/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: René-Joseph Kimber.]
14. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/raymond-jean-moise-5041/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Jean-Moïse Raymond.]
15. [http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/holmes_benjamin_9E.html Lorne Ste. Croix, "Holmes, Benjamin", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', Volume IX (1861–1870), University of Toronto/Université Laval.]
16. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/moffatt-george-4513/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: George Moffatt.]
17. [http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/moffatt_george_9E.html ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'': "Moffatt, George".]
18. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/delisle-alexandre-maurice-2813/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Alexandre-Maurice Delisle.]
19. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/morin-augustin-norbert-4557/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Augustin-Norbert Morin.]
20. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/day-charles-dewey-2785/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Charles Dewey Day.]
21. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/aylwin-thomas-cushing-1797/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Thomas Cushing Aylwin.]
22. {{rp. p. 59, note (33)[http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/burnet_david_8E.html "Burnet, David", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography''.]
23. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/borne-michel-2181/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Michel Borne]
24. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/irumberry-de-salaberry-melchior-alphonse-d-3699/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Melchior-Alphonse d'Irumberry de Salaberry]
25. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/parent-etienne-4767/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Étienne Parent]
26. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/turcotte-joseph-edouard-5649/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Joseph-Édouard Turcotte]
27. [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/robertson-colin-5121/biographie.html National Assembly of Quebec: Colin Robertson.]
28. [https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00952_1/401?r=0&s=2 ''Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada'', 1st Parliament, 1st Session, 1841, p. 387.]