Legislative Council of Upper Canada


The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house governing the province of Upper Canada. Modelled after the British House of Lords, it was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was specified that the council should consist of at least seven members. Members were appointed for life but could be dropped for non-attendance. The first nine members of the council were appointed on 12 July 1792. The speaker was usually the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench. The Legislative Council was dissolved on 10 February 1841 when Upper and Lower Canada were united into the Province of Canada. Some members were reappointed to the Legislative Council of the united Province.
Unlike the other three provinces that would initially make up the Dominion of Canada, a provincial Legislative Council was not re-established for Ontario when the province entered Confederation in 1867.

List of Members of the Legislative Council

Notes:
  1. Jacob Mountain was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec; he never attended a session but was not dropped.
  2. Angus McIntosh never attended a session but was not dropped; he returned to Scotland in 1831.
  3. James Gordon was re-appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada in October 1845.
  4. Alexander Grant, Jr. and Abraham Nelles did not attend after 1832.

Speakers

The Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench was usually the Speaker of the Council:

Buildings housing the Legislative Council

The Legislative Council sat in the same building as the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada:

Meeting Places