1st Parliament of the Province of Canada

Parliament of the Province of Canada
Parlement de la Province du Canada
First Parliament, 1841 – 1844
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
HousesLegislative Council
Legislative Assembly
Term limits
Four years, subject to earlier dissolution
History
FoundedFebruary 10, 1841 (1841-02-10)
New session started
2nd Parliament of the Province of Canada, 1844–1847
Leadership
Samuel Harrison, 1841–1842 (Reform)
William Henry Draper, 1842 (Upper Canada Tories)
Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, 1842-1843 (Reform)
Sir Dominick Daly, 1843 (Acting premier)
William Henry Draper, 1843-1847 (Upper Canada Tories)
William Henry Draper, 1841–1842 (Upper Canada Tories)
Charles Richard Ogden, 1842 (Government supporter)
Robert Baldwin 1842-1843 (Reform)
Denis-Benjamin Viger 1843-1846 (Groupe canadien-français)
Robert Sympson Jameson, 1841–1842
Peter McGill, 1842-1847
Austin Cuvillier, 1841–1844 (Groupe canadien-français)
SeatsLegislative Council: 24
Legislative Assembly: 84
Elections
Legislative Council voting system
Life appointments
Legislative Assembly voting system
Single member constituencies
First-past-the-post voting
Open ballot system
Adult male franchise with property qualification
Constitution
Act of Union 1840

The First Parliament of the Province of Canada was summoned in 1841, following the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada as the Province of Canada on February 10, 1841. The Parliament continued until dissolution in late 1844.

The Parliament of the Province had two chambers: the elected lower house, the Legislative Assembly, and the appointed upper house, the Legislative Council. The first general election for the Legislative Assembly was held in April, 1841. Canada East (formerly Lower Canada) and Canada West (formerly Upper Canada)) each had forty-two seats in the Legislative Assembly. The members of the Legislative Council, twenty-four in number, were appointed by the British Governor General, Lord Sydenham.

All sessions were held at Kingston, Canada West, with the first session of the Parliament called in June 1841. The Parliament had three annual sessions, but then was prorogued for close to a year due to a political crisis in the relations between the Legislative Assembly and the Governor General. The Parliament was dissolved in September, 1844, triggering the second general election for the Province, and the second Parliament, which met in Montreal.

In 1841, the District Councils Act was passed which established a system of local government in Canada West based on district councils. Prior to 1841, local affairs were dealt with by the District Court of Quarter Sessions.