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Upper Canada Facts & Worksheets

The province of Upper Canada, also called Canada West, is now known as Ontario. From 1791 until 1841 the area was known as Upper Canada.

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The province of Upper Canada, also called Canada West, is now known as Ontario. From 1791 until 1841 the area was known as Upper Canada. Also, from 1841 to 1867 the region was known as Canada West, though the two names continued to be employed interchangeably.

See the fact file below for more information on the Upper Canada or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Upper Canada worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

INTRODUCTION

  • Upper Canada, or Canada West, was settled primarily by English-speaking settlers.
  • Upper Canada was a part of British Canada founded in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, which aimed to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Quebec since 1763. Upper Canada comprised all of modern-day Ontario.
  • The prefix “upper” in the name of Upper Canada indicates its geographic position along the Great Lakes, mostly above the headwaters of the Saint Lawrence River, contrasted with Lower Canada (present-day Quebec) to the northeast.
  • The province was the main destination of Loyalist refugees and settlers from the United States after the American Revolution, who oftentimes were granted land to live in Upper Canada.
  • Upper Canada was distinguished by its British way of life, a bicameral parliament, and separate civil and criminal law.

FROM CONSTITUTIONAL ACT (1791) TO THE ACT OF UNION

  • By the Constitutional Act of 1791, Upper Canada was created. This Constitutional Act divided the former Province of Quebec into two parts which were the Upper Canada and Lower Canada. In 1840, Upper Canada and Lower Canada were united once again to form the Province of Canada and was then referred to as Canada West (Upper Canada, or Ontario) and Canada East (Lower Canada, or Quebec).
  • The words “Upper Canada” and “Lower Canada” in the Canadian historical context, therefore attribute to the period within 1791 and 1841. Much of Ontario’s heritage we know today can be traced to this Upper Canada period.
  • The answer of London to the American Revolution with regard to the administration of its North American colonies was the Constitutional Act of 1791.
  • A lieutenant-governor, aided by an executive council and a legislative council, including a house of assembly, was appointed in each province.
  • In 1791, Upper Canada had a population of about 10,000 people. Most inhabitants were United Empire Loyalists who profited substantially from the generosity of London. Upper Canada also had significant Francophone and Aboriginal populations at that time.
  • John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, played a significant role in establishing Upper Canadian society. He wanted to shape the new region on his native England and establish Anglicanism as the state religion.
  • The invasion of America to Canada during the War of 1812 was also crucial to defining the Upper Canadian identity. By taking up arms versus the new republic, the former American settlers — who made up a large part of population of Upper Canada — strengthened their existing ties to England.
  • Since the early 19th century, the Family Compact that had ruled the province became a point of growing dissension in the 1820s. Although they failed, William Lyon Mackenzie’s rebellion proved that the general population did not share the Family Compact’s vision of society.
  • Robert Baldwin and Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine, some of the influential men in Upper Canada, introduced a number of important reforms.
  • London authorities inflicted the main changes when they adopted many of the recommendations in Lord Durham’s report drafted after the rebellions of 1837 and 1838 in Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Including the recommendation led to the Act of Union of 1841, which marked the end of Upper Canada and the start of a new political period, that of United Canada.

THE 1837 REBELLIONS

  • In Upper Canada (as in Lower Canada), a portion of the population was critical of how the political elite administered the colony. Matters of discussion covered political patronage, policies on education, the economy, and land grants (especially clergy reserves), including the favoritism shown to the Anglican Church.
  • In 1828 and in 1834, the reformers took the authority of the House of Assembly but were unable to effect the desired changes. This worked in favor of William Lyon Mackenzie together with his more radical approach.
  • L. Mackenzie originally desired to pressure the colonial authorities and government by urging a boycott of imported goods, encouraging political unions, as well as associating with reformers from Lower Canada. However, in late summer 1837, he quit non-violent strategies and turned increasingly toward armed revolt.
  • L. Mackenzie and almost 1,000 men met in early December 1837, at Montgomery’s Tavern in Toronto to attempt to abolish the government. Between 200 and 300 volunteers and militia men drove back the rebels. After three days between 1,000 and 1,500 Loyalists marched on the tavern and urged the rebels to flee. The rebellion was about to end. Several clashes broke out in 1838, but none posed much threat to the government.

THE DURHAM REPORT AND THE ACT OF UNION

  • John Lambton, commonly referred to in Canadian history texts simply as Lord Durham, was sent to Canada to report on the causes for the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada.
  • Durham’s report directed to the administrative union of Upper and Lower Canada as the Province of Canada in 1841.
  • The suggestions of the Durham Report were greatly different for Upper Canada than for Lower Canada. Lord Durham wanted to re-establish peace in the colonies, and so recommended a political union. He assumed this peace could best be accomplished by ensuring a loyal English majority in British North America, by anglicizing French Canadians, and by giving responsible government.
  • The Act of Union provided protection to Upper Canadian culture by declaring English as the only official language of the Parliament of United Canada. By providing Upper Canada as many parliamentary representatives as the more populous Lower Canada, the Act of Union supported the political life of Upper Canadians. By suggesting the assimilation of French Canadians, the Durham Report strengthened the presence of English-speaking Canadians in America. Therefore, the Durham Report was not a threat to Upper Canada, instead, it met angry outcry by the French-speaking population, primarily in Lower Canada.
  • The people of Lower Canada opposed the Durham Report’s radical measures so forcefully that in 1848, 7 years after the Act of Union came into effect, London was forced to acknowledge and accept the use of French.
  • The Durham Report additionally formed a new political class — moderate reformers who believed in co-operation between the two main groups of Canada at the time. There would be Robert Baldwin in Canada West and Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine in Canada East.

THE BALDWIN-LAFONTAINE GOVERNMENTS

  • The first under the Union, London did what it could to favor Conservative candidates in the election of 1841. Under Robert Baldwin, there were 26 reformist members elected in Canada West, and in Canada East, only 7 true reform members were elected under Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine.
  • The two politicians both understood that they would have to join forces to counter London’s attempts to dictate the colony’s affairs. The arrangement gave advantages to each party.
  • Baldwin and Lafontaine worked unitedly to ensure both tuned to be members of the House of Assembly and the Executive Council.
  • Governor Charles Bagot who broke with former Governor-General Lord Sydenham’s policy of blocking Executive Council access to Francophones favored Baldwin and Lafontaine formed the first coalition government of the country’s. This brief era of relative independence in United Canada stopped when Governor Bagot died in 1843 and was replaced by Charles Metcalfe. Governor Metcalfe constantly intended to put the reformers in their place, making co-operation between the two halves of the colony more challenging.
  • However, the two politicians, Baldwin and Lafontaine. were called again to form a coalition government from 1848 to 1851. The “Great Ministry,” as it was called, would contribute heavily to the legal as well as the municipal system in United Canada. The coalition government also adopted a number of significant reforms that would alter the colony’s political and social landscape.

MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY

  • The political system’s evolution introduced by the Act of Union culminated in the granting of responsible administration to the North American colonies in 1848. From that time on, ministers would need the confidence of the House of Assembly or would have to resign. This grant by London, a great step toward parliamentary democracy, was partly responsible for the instability that recorded Canadian political history in the ten years before Confederation in 1867.

Upper Canada Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Upper Canada across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Upper Canada worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the province of Upper Canada, also called Canada West, which is now known as Ontario. From 1791 until 1841 the area was known as Upper Canada. Also, from 1841 to 1867 the region was known as Canada West, though the two names continued to be employed interchangeably.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Upper Canada Facts
  • Quick Facts
  • Unlocking Vocabularies
  • Major Events in Upper Canada
  • Belongings
  • Check or Not
  • Influential People
  • Durham Report
  • Language of Canada
  • Bests of Ontario
  • Flag Design

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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