Canada Company
Encyclopedia
The Canada Company was a large private chartered British land development company, incorporated by an act of British parliament
on July 27, 1825, to aid the colonization of Upper Canada
. Canada Company assisted emigrants by providing good ships, low fares, implements and tools,and inexpensive land. Scottish novelist, John Galt, was the company's first Canadian superintendent. The government of Upper Canada sold the company 10,000 km² of land for 341 000 pounds. Slightly less than half of the land that was purchased comprised what would become the Huron Tract
,located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron
, the remainder, located in other areas of Upper Canada, became Clergy reserves under the control of the Clergy Corporation
. Galt selected Guelph
, Ontario as the company's headquarters. The company surveyed and subdivided this massive area, built roads, mills, and schools and advertised it to buyers in Europe. The company then assisted in the migration of new settlers, bringing them to the area by means of a boat, which the company also owned, on Lake Ontario
.
The company's mismanagement and corruption, and its close alliance with the Tory
elites, known as the Family Compact
was an important contributing factor to the Upper Canada Rebellion
in 1837.The company was dissolved on December 18, 1953.
, as secretary, had the first order of business. Tabling an abstract of the charter, Galt declared the name to be “The Canada Company” with directors and secretary as served on the Provisional Committee and listed in the charter.
. In 1951 the Pinery land and other remaining Company land parcels were sold.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
on July 27, 1825, to aid the colonization of Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
. Canada Company assisted emigrants by providing good ships, low fares, implements and tools,and inexpensive land. Scottish novelist, John Galt, was the company's first Canadian superintendent. The government of Upper Canada sold the company 10,000 km² of land for 341 000 pounds. Slightly less than half of the land that was purchased comprised what would become the Huron Tract
Huron Tract
The Huron Tract Purchase also known as the Huron Block, registered as Crown Treaty Number 29, is a large area of land in southwestern Ontario bordering on Lake Huron to the west and Lake Erie to the east...
,located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
, the remainder, located in other areas of Upper Canada, became Clergy reserves under the control of the Clergy Corporation
Clergy Corporation
The Clergy Corporation, or the Clergy Reserve Corporation of Upper Canada, existed to oversee, manage and lease the Clergy reserves of Upper Canada, a large amount of land in Upper Canada that had been put aside for the Anglican and later Protestant churches...
. Galt selected Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario as the company's headquarters. The company surveyed and subdivided this massive area, built roads, mills, and schools and advertised it to buyers in Europe. The company then assisted in the migration of new settlers, bringing them to the area by means of a boat, which the company also owned, on Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
.
The company's mismanagement and corruption, and its close alliance with the Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
elites, known as the Family Compact
Family Compact
Fully developed after the War of 1812, the Compact lasted until Upper and Lower Canada were united in 1841. In Lower Canada, its equivalent was the Château Clique. The influence of the Family Compact on the government administration at different levels lasted to the 1880s...
was an important contributing factor to the Upper Canada Rebellion
Upper Canada Rebellion
The Upper Canada Rebellion was, along with the Lower Canada Rebellion in Lower Canada, a rebellion against the British colonial government in 1837 and 1838. Collectively they are also known as the Rebellions of 1837.-Issues:...
in 1837.The company was dissolved on December 18, 1953.
Company Structure
The formal structure of the Canada Company was put into place August 24, 1826 by the company Court of Directors. John GaltJohn Galt
John Galt was a Scottish novelist, entrepreneur, and political and social commenter. Because he was the first novelist to deal with issues of the industrial revolution, he has been called the first political novelist in the English language.-Life:Born in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland, Galt was...
, as secretary, had the first order of business. Tabling an abstract of the charter, Galt declared the name to be “The Canada Company” with directors and secretary as served on the Provisional Committee and listed in the charter.
Board of Directors – August 19, 1826
In the mid-19th century, a company board of directors was controlled by the shareholders. The general meeting of the shareholders was considered to be the primary authority. Canada Company shareholders holding 24 shares were eligible to become directors.Chairman
The chairman is the leader of the board of directors. The chairman conducts company business in an orderly fashion. The chairman's duties often include representing the company to the outside world as its spokesperson.Auditors
Auditors were under contract with the Canada Company to verify their books for compliance with rules of the day and report the results to the Board of Directors. The Canada Company was to distribute the results to other interested parties.Secretary
The company secretary performs a variety of tasks crucial to the smooth daily operations of the company. Beyond the day to day operations, the secretary maintains the register of directors and secretary, issues share certificates and records transfers of shares and arranges for charges to be registered and recorded.Solicitors
The Canada Company solicitors mediated the rights and duties among shareholders, creditors and directors.Bankers
Conditions of Directorships
At the first meeting of the board, it was declared that four directors would rotate off the Company beginning in 1829.Company Directors
- John Galt • (1824–1829) • Founder (1824–26), secretary (1824–1832), and first superindentent (1827–1829).
- William AllanWilliam Allan (banker)William Allan JP was a Canadian banker, businessman and politician.Allan was born at Moss, near Huntly, Scotland around 1770. He came to Canada around 1787 to work with Forsyth, Richardson and Company and settled at Niagara a year later. In 1795, he moved to York...
• (1829–1841) • Commissioner of the Canada Company. Appointed to replace John Galt.
- Frederick WidderFrederick WidderFrederick Widder was a Canada Company Commissioner, son of a Canada Company London director, with family connections to royalty and the right Anglican connections. His moderate approach and financial innovations for the Canada Company would give him good standing with the pioneers of the Huron...
• (1839–1864) • Commissioner replacing William Allan.
- Thomas Mercer JonesThomas Mercer JonesThomas Mercer Jones was an English-born administrator who arrived in Upper Canada in the 1820s and was employed as a commissioner of the Canada Company based in Goderich. A series of internal conflicts led to his dismissal in 1852. He died in Toronto.- External links :*...
• (1829–1852) • Commissioner of the Canada Company .
- Dr. William "Tiger" Dunlop • Held positions of Warden of the Forests and later superintendent of the Canada Company.
People influential in Canada Company affairs
- Richard Alexander Tucker.
- In 1841 Richard Tucker was Provincial Secretary of Upper Canada and had considerable influence over decisions made concerning the Company in its early years.
- Sir Peregrine Maitland.
- In 1818 Sir Pegegrine Maitland was appointed lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada. He became associated with the Family Compact. His authoritarian leadership style was one of the causes of the Rebellion of 1837.
- Bishop MacdonnellAlexander Macdonell (bishop)Bishop Alexander Macdonell was the first Roman Catholic bishop of Kingston, Upper Canada.-Early years:...
. Roman Catholic Bishop attacked by William Lyon MackenzieWilliam Lyon MackenzieWilliam Lyon Mackenzie was a Scottish born American and Canadian journalist, politician, and rebellion leader. He served as the first mayor of Toronto, Upper Canada and was an important leader during the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion.-Background and early years in Scotland, 1795–1820:Mackenzie was...
.
- Alexander Macdonell was a Roman Catholic Scotsman who accepted the government promise of 200 acre (0.809372 km²) in Upper Canada to every soldier who emigrated. He had been the chaplain of a Catholic Scottish Glengarry regiment. Macdonell was a conservative legislative councillor from 1831 leading the mainly Irish settlers against the Reform movement and Mackenzie.
- Bishop StrachanJohn StrachanJohn Strachan was an influential figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto.-Early life:Strachan was the youngest of six children born to a quarry worker in Aberdeen, Scotland. He graduated from King's College, Aberdeen in 1797...
. Protagonist in the Clergy Reserves issue.
- An executive councillor in 1817 and legislative councillor in 1820 in the government of Upper Canada, Bishop Strachan sought special status for the Anglican church.
Dissolution of the Canada Company
By 1938, the Canada Company held just over 20000 acres (80.9 km²) acres of unsold land, while the company shares were valued at 10 shillings. It had become a land company in the process of liquidation. The land remaining unsold would become an Ontario Provincial Park—Pinery Provincial ParkPinery Provincial Park
The Pinery Provincial Park is a park located on Lake Huron near Grand Bend, Ontario. It occupies an area of 25.32 square kilometres ....
. In 1951 the Pinery land and other remaining Company land parcels were sold.
See also
- British-American Land Company, the Lower CanadaLower CanadaThe Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
equivalent of the Canada Company - Huron TractHuron TractThe Huron Tract Purchase also known as the Huron Block, registered as Crown Treaty Number 29, is a large area of land in southwestern Ontario bordering on Lake Huron to the west and Lake Erie to the east...
- Family CompactFamily CompactFully developed after the War of 1812, the Compact lasted until Upper and Lower Canada were united in 1841. In Lower Canada, its equivalent was the Château Clique. The influence of the Family Compact on the government administration at different levels lasted to the 1880s...
- William "Tiger" Dunlop, MP
- Robert Graham DunlopRobert Graham DunlopRobert Graham Dunlop was a ship's captain and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Keppoch, Scotland in 1790 and joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13. He became a lieutenant while serving during the Napoleonic Wars; he later reached the rank of captain...
, MP