The 1st Parliament of Upper Canada was the inaugural legislature of the province of Upper Canada, instituted upon the province's establishment as a separate colony from the province of Quebec in December 1791. The new province was created by the enactment of the Constitutional Act 1791, which prescribed the governance structure and rules of engagement for the government of the new province.
The Parliament of Upper Canada was modeled after the Parliament of the United Kingdom, consisting of three components: The Crown of the United Kingdom – represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada who was advise by a council of ministers, the Executive Council of Upper Canada The Legislative Council of Upper Canada – the upper chamber with members who were appointed for life The House of Assembly of Upper Canada – the lower chamber with no less than sixteen members to be elected from electoral division determined by the Lieutenant Governor
With election held in August 1792, the 1st Parliament convened on 17 September 1792. From 1792 to 1796, the provincial capital was in Newark (modern day Niagara-on-the-Lake). Various meeting locations were identified by record from that period as having host the gathering of the assembly, including: the Anchorage the Freemanson's Hall the Navy Hall (official residence of Lieutenant Governor Simcoe)
The 1st Parliament convened five sessions during its duration:Archives of Ontario It was dissolved 1 July 1796.
No copies of the journal of the House of Assembly for the third, fourth and fifth sessions (1794, 1795, 1796) of the 1st Parliament are known to have survived the plundering by American troops following the Battle of York in 1814, during which the buildings of the Legislative Assembly, and Government House were set on fire. Limited records of the assembly proceedings from the 3rd session had been assembled from fragments of documented recovered in the Crown Land Departments. SessionsStartEnd1st17 September 179215 October 17922nd31 May 17939 July 17933rd2 June 17949 July 17944th6 July 179510 August 17955th16 May 17963 June 1796
The Crown The 1st Parliament was in office during the thirty-second to the thirty-sixth year of the reign of King George III of the United Kingdom. The King was represented by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe for the entire duration of the 1st Parliament.
Legislative Council The Legislative Council of Upper Canada consisted of the following members during the 1st Parliament.
Departure occurred during later parliament Member Town Entered Exited Notes James BabySandwich Richard Cartwright Kingston Richard DuncanWilliamsburgh Alexander Grant Sr.York Robert HamiltonNiagara John MunroEastern District William OsgoodeYorkAppointed Chief Justice of Lower Canada William RobertsonSandwich Resignation Peter RussellYork Æneas ShawYork Jacob MountainQuebec CityAnglican Bishop of Quebec
Members of the House of Assembly RidingMemberNo. of termsNote Dundas17921st term Durham, York & 1st Lincoln17921st term1st Glengarry17921st term 2nd Glengarry 17921st termSpeaker 1792–1796 Grenville17921st term Kent17921st term Kent17921st term Leeds & Frontenac17921st term Lennox, Hastings & Northumberland17921st term 2nd Lincoln17921st term 3rd Lincoln17921st term 4th Lincoln & Norfolk17921st term Ontario & Addington17921st term Prince Edward and District of the Township of Adolphustown17921st termDid not take seat (1793)17931st termTook seat on June 1, 1793 Stormont17921st term Suffolk & Essex17921st term
See also Legislative Council of Upper Canada Executive Council of Upper Canada Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Lieutenant Governors of Upper Canada, 1791–1841 Historical federal electoral districts of Canada List of Ontario provincial electoral districts
Notes
References
Sources