BUILDING A NATION CHAPTER 3

Changes in Government (a little bit “new”; a little bit “review”) Although the 1837 rebellions in the Canadas failed, these actions scared the British government 60 years earlier, Britain had lost the 13 American colonies; the Canada rebellions reminded Britain that it could have also lost the vast land of Canada Britain had control of only colonies now: Upper & Lower Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, and Newfoundland Thus, Lord Durham was sent out to investigate the Canadas and seek solutions to the problems… and hopefully stop a third rebellion from happening

Review Continued… Durham wrote a report suggesting that Upper and Lower Canada be joined together, be given responsible government, and that all BNA colonies be united Durham also proposed changes to the colonial government structure, such as removing the power of the Legislative Council to make laws Durham’s proposals became the basis for our present-day government system, although it took some time for governors to actually make the change Britain accepted Durham’s report, and the Act of Union in 1840 made it all happen: government changed, the Canadas merged into one Province of Canada with Montreal as its capital city, and the French were basically ignored throughout the whole process

Responsible Government Achieved in the Canadas: Lord Sydenham Charles Thompson (Lord Sydenham) arrived in the Canadas as the new governor general in 1839 His first two tasks: (1) bring economic prosperity to the Canadas, and (2) to prevent the introduction of responsible government Unfortunately, Thompson died in 1841 when he fell off of a horse, but he successfully completed task #1 before his death Reformers were relentless; due to their pressure, Sydenham ended the practice of lifetime service in the Executive Council and invited Reformers from the Legislative Assembly to form part of Council He also divided lands fairly equally among the churches and the revenue received from these lands would provide schools He established a system of local government as well, so now residents of towns and cities had a say in decisions that affected their communities (such as road building)

Alliance? Sydenham’s decisions brought him support, among both the Assembly and Reformers He ignored the Canadiens, though. He didn’t trust them. In 1840, Reformers such as Baldwin and Lafontaine still wanted 100% responsible government (while Sydenham’s changes were a step in the right direction, this was still not exactly “responsible government”) One of Baldwin’s friends figured out something that the Family Compact had feared: an alliance between Reformers and Canadiens would form a majority… so he moved to Montreal to try to make this happen

Majority Rules! Doesn’t It? When Sydenham died, the new governor, Sir Charles Bagot, tried to continue his work. He realized that he needed more support in order to raise money through taxes. So, Bagot actually asked Canadiens to be a part of his Council. Baldwin and LaFontaine and 3 other Reformers joined Council. This was another “good step”, but still not responsible government. Remember, the governor still dominated the Executive Council. Bagot resigned a few years later due to poor health. His replacement, Sir Charles Metcalfe, was determined to block reformation and ignored the “majority”, and appointed his friends to office. Baldwin, LaFontaine, and others were enraged because they formed the majority in the council, yet were ignored by the governor. They resigned, and Metcalfe had to call an election.

Election Time! The election campaign of 1844 was dirty and vicious Metcalfe branded people who liked responsible government and traitors to Britain. Bribery and thug life were effective. Metcalfe’s side won. The Reformers lost… but it was the closest race anyone had ever witnessed. During Metcalf’s time as governor in Canada, big changes were happening in Britain, which directly affected Canada The Reformation political revolution in Britain in the 1840s resulted in colonies being able to trade with whomever they wanted (trade is big money) One of the reasons responsible government wasn’t happening in Canada was because it wasn’t the British style of government, and Britain controlled Canada; NOW, if Britain didn’t control Canada’s economy, why would they care anything about its government?

Ta-Daaa! Metcalfe eventually retired as governor His replacement was Lord Elgin, who was Durham’s son-in-law Elgin believed in democracy, and was ready to introduce it An election in 1848 saw a Reformer win. Elgin immediately asked Baldwin and LaFontaine to form a government and name members. Now, the Executive Council WITH the approval of the Assembly would TOGETHER shape government policy: finally, Responsible Government

The First Test The real test of responsible government would be when the colonial government took an action of which the governor disapproved If the governor overruled the action, then responsible government would not really exist In 1849, there was a Rebellion Loses Bill. This bill provided compensation for people who suffered property damage during the 1837 Rebellions. Most people were Canadiens, who had not taken part in the riots. However, some of the people were revels whose property had been destroyed. The “old-school” Assembly members hated this bill. Elgin also did not like it. Why should people who rebelled against government years earlier be allowed to collect compensation? Elgin signed the Bill. Although he didn’t like it, and although he received death threats, he knew that responsible government required him to follow the advice of the Executive Council, so he did.

The Second Test Ten years later came another test of responsible government In 1859, the government approved a bill for a 20% tax on imported goods in order to raise money for public works (ie: roads, buildings, etc) This bill upset British manufacturers; the British government told Canada that it would overrule this bill if it were passed Canada passed the bill. Britain backed down, primarily because of these following strong words: “Self government would be utterly annihilated if the views of the Imperial Government were to be preferred to those of the people of Canada. It is therefore the duty of the present government distinctly to affirm the rights of the Canadian legislature to adjust taxation of the people in the way they deem best.” ~Alexander Galt, member of the Executive Council