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Representative and responsible government form the foundations
of our democratic system today. This page will look at the history
of representative government in Canada, which had to be won before
responsible government.
Definition
The Maritime Provinces
The Province of Canada
Newfoundland
British Columbia
Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan
The Territories
Bibliography
Related Topics:
Responsible Government
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Common Law and Civil Law
The Written and Unwritten Constitution
Canada's Constitutional
History
Definition
Representative government is a system of government with a law-making
body that is at least partly elected by the people. It is a principle
in governments following the English model that only an elected
assembly could make laws (legislate) and institute taxes. In Canada,
representative government was gained at different times and in different
ways in each province and territory.
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To learn more about representative government:
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The Maritime Provinces
Canadian provinces and territories gained representative government
at different times. Nova Scotia was the first colony in what is
now Canada to achieve a representative government in 1758. At the
time it included what is now Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
Prince Edward Island, at that time The Island of Saint John, was
made a separate colony in 1769, and gained an elected assembly in
1773. New Brunswick, settled by 14,000 Loyalists
after the American
Revolution, separated from Nova Scotia and was given representative
government in 1784.
The Province of Canada
After the British conquest of New France and the Royal
Proclamation, 1763, the newly created province of Québec
was promised an elected assembly. The governors, however, were of
the opinion that it was too soon after the conquest. This caused
conflict with British merchants who arrived after the conquest.
The Québec
Act, 1774, established government by the governor and a
council. This continued until the end of the American Revolution
in 1783, when the newly arrived Loyalists began to agitate for representative
government. This was granted under the Constitutional
Act, 1791, which also divided the province of Québec into
Upper and Lower Canada.
Newfoundland
Newfoundland was the last colony in what is now Canada to gain
representative government in 1832. In 1934, however, the Great
Depression and other factors led the Newfoundland legislature
to vote itself out of existence. As a result, Newfoundland came
under direct rule by Britain and was without an elected assembly
until it joined Confederation in 1949. The terms for entry into
Canada included the creation of an elected legislature.
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To learn more about the evolution of government
in Newfoundland:
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British Columbia
In 1849, the Hudson's
Bay Company was granted Vancouver Island for settlement and,
seven years later, the governor created an elected assembly there.
The mainland colony was granted a partially elected assembly in
1864. In 1866, the two colonies were joined as British Columbia.
It was not until after the colony joined Confederation, however,
that all the seats in the assembly became elective.
Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan
Manitoba received representative government when it was created
by the Manitoba Act, 1870. Alberta and Saskatchewan received
representative government in 1886, while they were still part of
the North-West Territories. When they were created as provinces
in 1905 they received elected legislatures.
The Territories
Yukon was created in 1898 and had a fully elected assembly by 1908.
The Northwest Territories council was created in 1905, made partially
elective in 1951 and fully elective in 1974. Nunavut received an
elected assembly when it was created in 1999.
Rupert's
Land Act, 1868
(This act allows Canada to admit Rupert's land into Canada.)
Temporary
Government of Rupert's Land Act, 1869 (bilingual)
(Establishes a temporary government for Rupert's Land when it
is admitted into Confederation.)
(Courtesy of Department of Justice, Canada)
Yukon
Territory Act, 1898
(Creates Yukon Territory.)
Constitution
Act, 1999 (Nunavut Act)
(Courtesy of Department of Justice, Canada)
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To learn more about representative government
in each of the provinces an territories:
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Bibliography
Memorial University of Newfoundland and the C.R.B. Foundation.
Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. St. John's: Memorial University
of Newfoundland, 1999. (Online: <http://www.heritage.nf.ca/home.html>,
accessed November 8, 2002)
National Library of Canada. Canadian Confederation. Ottawa,
Government of Canada, 2001.
(Online: <http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/2/18/>,
accessed November 8, 2002).
Privy Council Office. The History of Canada's Constitutional
Development. Ottawa: Government of Canada, 2001. (Online: <http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/default.asp?Language=E&Page=
consfile&Sub=TheHistoryofConstitution>, accessed November
8, 2002).
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