UPPER CANADA Flashcards
Who was the Family Compact?
Men from reputable families, who ran the Executive council from the 1810s-40s. They were traditionalist and devout Anglicans (Church of England). Durham called them a “petty, corrupt, insolent Tory clique.”
What was the system of land tenure based off of?
British free hold tenure - in which land was owned by the Crown, therefore judged to be free to grant to settlers.
Despite the freehold system, Britain did recognise the Indigenous peoples claim to land, how did they deal with this?
They signed treaties with native groups, exchanging money for their land.
How much land was clergy reserves, and what did this mean?
1/7 of all land was clergy reserves. This meant the profit from the sale or rental of this land went to the Anglican Church.
Britain felt the best way to ensure Canadian loyalty was to set up the Anglican Church, however, the religions in Upper Canada primarily included what?
A majority in Upper Canada were Protestants, as well as Baptists, Congregationalists and, increasingly, Methodists.
Despite the clergy reserves angering the non-Anglican population, why would nothing be done about it.
because the Family Compact were in control, and their loyalty to the Anglican Church meant there would be no reform
Instead of working with the legislative assembly to raise revenue, what did the government do?
The government side stepped them, denying them the opportunity to influence spending in the province.
Who were the Reformers?
Members of the Upper Canada legislative assembly who wanted greater economic and political control.
How did the government raise the revenue (without the legislative assembly’s influence), and why did this anger the Reformers?
By selling land to the Canada Company and using that money to pay for officials. This angered Reformers because they were then unable to influence the lieutenant governor through the traditional means of refusing to vote money to pay salaries.
What was happening during the 1820s-30s?
With the allocation of clergy reserves to the Anglican Church and growing opposition towards the Family Compact, there were calls for a “responsible and cheap government”.
Who initiated and popularised the phrase for a “responsible and cheap government”?
Robert Baldwin, the ‘father of responsible government’ who, in 1836 suggested a constitutional reform to establish a responsible government, whereby the executive is responsible to voters in Canada rather than London.
