Hamilton (Province of Canada electoral district)

Hamilton was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of the Province of Canada, in Canada West, based on the town of Hamilton. It was created in 1841, upon the establishment of the Province of Canada by the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Hamilton was represented by one member in the Legislative Assembly. It was abolished in 1867, upon the creation of Canada and the province of Ontario.

Boundaries

Hamilton electoral district was based largely on the municipal boundaries of the town of Hamilton, located at the western end of Lake Ontario in the central area of Canada West (now the province of Ontario). Hamilton was the major centre of the electoral district.

The Union Act, 1840 merged the two provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada, with a single Parliament. The separate parliaments of Lower Canada and Upper Canada were abolished.Union Act, 1840, 3 & 4 Vict. (UK), c. 35, s. 2. The Union Act provided that the town of Hamilton would constitute one electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of the new Parliament,Union Act, 1840, s. 17. but gave the Governor General of the Province of Canada the power to draw the boundaries for the electoral district.Union Act, 1840, s. 21.

The first Governor General, Lord Sydenham, issued a proclamation shortly after the formation of the Province of Canada in early 1841, establishing the boundaries for the electoral district:

Members of the Legislative Assembly

Hamilton was represented by one member in the Legislative Assembly. The following were the members for Hamilton.

Parliament YearsMemberJ.O. Côté, Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada, 1841 to 1860, (Quebec: St. Michel and Darveau, 1860), pp. 43-58. PartyFor party affiliations, see Paul G. Cornell, Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841-67 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962; reprinted in paperback 2015), pp. 93-111. 1st Parliament1841–1844 1841–1844 Sir Allan MacNab Unionist; Compact Tory

Abolition

The district was abolished on July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act, 1867 came into force, creating Canada and splitting the Province of Canada into Quebec and Ontario.British North America Act, 1867 (now the Constitution Act, 1867), s. 6. It was succeeded by electoral districts of the same name in the House of Commons of CanadaConstitution Act, 1867, s. 40, para. 2 and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.Constitution Act, 1867, s. 70.

References