Historedia
EuropeEvent

Province of Canada created by the Act of Union

When
1840–1841
Where
British Parliament; Seat of government and first capital
Episodes
2

The Act of Union 1840 merged Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. Passed by Parliament in July 1840, it was proclaimed in February 1841, establishing a single legislature. Lord Sydenham implemented the union, moving the capital to Kingston. The Act did not include responsible government, which was only recommended by Durham.

Episodes

  1. 1840 – 10 February 1841 · Seat of government and first capitalSydenham's Implementation

    Lord Sydenham implemented the Union Act in 1840, moving the seat of government to Kingston, the first capital from 1841.

  2. July 1840 – 10 February 1841 · British ParliamentAct of Union 1840

    The Act of Union 1840 merged Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada, creating a single legislature.

Background and detail

Background. Following the Rebellions of 1837–1838, the British Parliament considered fusing the two colonies. The legislation was brought before the House of Commons in May 1839. It became an act in July 1840, abolishing separate parliaments and replacing them with a single legislature consisting of a Legislative Council and a Legislative Assembly.

Implementation. Lord Sydenham, who succeeded Lord Durham as Governor General in 1839, was responsible for implementing the Union Act. He moved the seat of government to Kingston, which served as the first capital from 1841 to 1844. The union was officially proclaimed in Montreal on 10 February 1841.

Governance. Durham's report recommended responsible government, but this was not included in the Act of Union 1840. Only the union recommendation was implemented in 1841. The test of responsible government came later, in 1849, when the Baldwin–Lafontaine government passed the Rebellion Losses Bill.

People involved

Sources

  1. Act of Union 1840 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-19
  2. Province of Canada Wikipedia
  3. Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-09

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.