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The Need for Colonial Reform Notes
Part A- Upper Canada:
As I go through the notes, highlight or circle the important points!
Oligarchy
Form of government in which the power lies in the hands of a small group of influential
men.
Britain appointed a governor who was supposed to control the oligarchy.
In reality, he ruled according to the wishes of its members.
These men were the aristocracy and had little idea what it was to be an ordinary farmer
who made up the bulk of the population.
It was not representative.
The Government of Upper Canada
Established in 1791 by the Constitutional Act.
It divided Upper Canada from Lower Canada.
Gave the colony an elected law-making assembly  Legislative Assembly.
The only people who could vote were English landowning males. How representative is
this?
Also, a governor chosen by the British who had two chosen councils.
This seems democratic; however, the actual power was held by the governor and his
chosen councils, who could veto any laws or regulations proposed by the assembly.
The Assembly wanted to benefit the ordinary people, the councils (made up of Family
Compact) wanted to benefit themselves.
 this led to calls for reform!
Grievance:
Grievances
The biggest grievance was land!
Speculators – those who buy property at a low price and sell it at a higher price without
spending much of their money.
Absentee landowners – land that was owned by the rich and rented out to the poor.
Crown and clergy reserves – blocks of land set aside to provide income for the
government and for the Anglican Church. They blocked road development, often tied up
good prime farmland!
Robert Gourlay, a Scottish land agent, surveyed farmers about life in Upper Canada. He
found widespread discontent -- people were fed up with the government and its land
policies.
He drew up a list of grievances and a petition.
He was arrested and sent out of the country!
William Lyon Mackenzie
William Lyon Mackenzie, a leading radical Scottish reformer took his place.
He started a newspaper called The Colonial Advocate. In this, he criticized the
government and the Family Compact.
He became the center of a group who wanted a more American style of government,
but one still loyal to Britain.
His views were Republican (democratic, without a monarch as the head of state).
became a leader of the reform movement!
Part B- Lower Canada:
As I go through the notes, underline the correct bolded phrase!
Stirrings in Lower Canada
The French population of LC had not completely adjusted to British conquest. 
Language and Cultural differences.
Control was in the hands of a few English speaking merchants who formed an oligarchy
known as the Chateau Clique.
Old power structure based on the seigneural system, an old system of New
France/New England whereby seigneurs or lords, were granted parcels of land by
France) was changing slowly.
Seigneurial families, and the church had considerable influence in LC and were thus
bribed by the Chateau Clique.
The power lay with the French-speaking/English-speaking people.
Grievances
English seemed to have the most advantages, despite being the minority/majority
(80, 000 English in a population of 420, 000)
Majority of the people thought that the seigneurs and the Church had sold out to
Canadian/English interests.
Most of all they felt that their way of life needed to change/ their way of life was
under attack.
They were beginning to feel like a French minority in a larger English colony
Feelings of Nationalism
The government tried to change the Seigneural system (the old system of New France
whereby seigneurs, or lords were granted parcels of land by France)
The government did this by offering land in the Eastern Townships to people of the
British Isles.
French-Canadians feared that Great Britain was trying to alleviate the “French
Problem”/ “Quebec Problem” by bringing more English speaking immigrants to the
colony.
They felt discriminated against both culturally and economically/economically and
politically because of their culture, language, and ideas.
The British tried to increase the taxation on land (majority of French were farmers), but
not on business (majority of business owners were English speaking).
Focus of Reform in Lower Canada
1. ___________________________________________________________.
2. ___________________________________________________________.
3. ___________________________________________________________.
Louis Joseph Papineau
The leader of the radical reformers/radical rebels in LC.
He was a powerful public speaker.
Along with Wolfred Nelson (English physician) and Edmund
O’Callaghan (Irishman who started a reform newspaper The
Vindicator), the reformers believed that the Assembly should have
complete control of the government’s budget, and they wanted a
More British-style republic/American-style republic.
Ninety-two Resolutions
The government arrested those who criticized it.
After British soldiers shot protesters in Montreal in 1832, Papineau and other reformers
in the
Assembly submitted their “Ninety-two Resolutions” to the governor.
It demanded a complete change in the way the colony was governed.
IT WAS DENIED!
Tensions are building…..
Rebellion is to come.