The Executive Council of Upper Canada had a similar function to the Cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada

The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was the elected legislature for the province of Upper Canada and functioned as the province's lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada...

. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the Legislative Assembly but were usually members of the Legislative Council

Legislative Council of Upper Canada

The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house governing the province of Upper Canada. Modelled after the British House of Lords, it was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was specified that the council should consist of at least seven members. Members were appointed for...

. Members were appointed, often for life. The first five members were appointed in July 1792. The Council was dissolved on February 10, 1841 when Upper and Lower Canada

Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

 were united into the Province of Canada

Province of Canada

The Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...

. It was replaced by the Executive Council of the Province of Canada

Executive Council of the Province of Canada

The Executive Council of the Province of Canada had a similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from its inception in 1841 to 1848....

 the same year.

After the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, the Executive Council was dominated by members of 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...

, an elite clique based in York

York, Upper Canada

York was the name of Old Toronto between 1793 and 1834. It was the second capital of Upper Canada.- History :The town was established in 1793 by Governor John Graves Simcoe, with a new 'Fort York' on the site of the last French 'Fort Toronto'...

.

List of Members of the Executive Council

Member	Town	Start The best	Stop	Notes
James Baby James Baby James Baby was a judge and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born Jacques Bâby, the son of Jacques Baby, to a prosperous family in Detroit in 1763 and educated in Upper Canada, then part of the province of Quebec, where his uncle, François Baby, lived...	Sandwich Windsor, Ontario Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...	July 9, 1792	February 19, 1833	died in office
Alexander Grant, Sr.	York Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...	July 9, 1792	May, 1813	died in office
William Osgoode William Osgoode William Osgoode was the first Chief Justice of Ontario, Canada.He was born William Osgood in London, England in 1754 to William Osgood. He attended Christ Church, Oxford and was called to the bar in 1779. On December 31, 1791, he was appointed first Chief Justice of Upper Canada...	York	July 9, 1792	July 1794	to Lower Canada
William Robertson	Sandwich	July 9, 1792	November 4, 1792	resigned
Peter Russell Peter Russell (politician) Peter Russell was a gambler, government official, politician and judge in Upper Canada.-Early life:...	York	July 9, 1792	September 30, 1808	died in office
Æneas Shaw Æneas Shaw Æneas Shaw UE was a soldier and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born at Tordarroch House, Pitlochry, Scotland around 1740 and came to Staten Island, New York around 1770. He joined the Queen's Rangers at the start of the American Revolution, later becoming a captain. After the British...  1	York	June 21, 1794	1807	retired
Jacob Mountain Jacob Mountain Jacob Mountain was an English churchman who became the first Anglican Bishop of Quebec.-Biography:The third son of Jacob Mountain of Thwaite Hall, Norfolk, by Ann, daughter of Jehoshaphat Postle of Wymondham, he was born at Thwaite Hall on 30 December 1749, and educated at Caius College,...	Quebec City Quebec City Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...	June 10, 1794	N/A	never attended
John Elmsley, Sr.	York	January 1, 1796	July 1802	Chief Justice of Upper Canada 1801, moved to Montreal as Chief Justice of Lower Canada 1802
John McGill John McGill John McGill may refer to:*Biraban, indigenous Australian leader known to Europeans as John McGill*Jack McGill , hockey player*Jack McGill , hockey player*J. Yancey McGill, South Carolina senator...	York	March 2, 1796	August 13, 1818	became Receiver General of Upper Canada (5 October 1813 to 2 December 1819)
David William Smith David William Smith (Upper Canada politician) Sir David William Smith, 1st Baronet was a soldier and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Salisbury, England in 1764. He joined the 5th Regiment of Foot in 1779. He married his first wife in 1788 and rejoined the regiment under his father's command at Detroit in 1790. He served on the...	?	March 2, 1796	July 1802	left Canada
Henry Allcock Henry Allcock Henry Allcock was a judge and political figure in Upper and Lower Canada.His family was from Edgbaston and he was born in Birmingham, England in 1759 and studied law at Lincoln's Inn in London. He was called to the bar in 1791. In 1798, he was appointed judge in the Court of King's Bench of Upper...	York	October 14, 1802	September 1804	moved to Lower Canada to become Chief Justice and member of the Executive Council of Lower Canada Executive Council of Lower Canada The Executive Council of Lower Canada was an appointive body created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. Its function was to advise the Governor or his representative on the administration of the colony's public affairs...  1805
Thomas Scott	York	April 8, 1805	August 1816	granted a pension and retired
William Dummer Powell William Dummer Powell William Dummer Powell was a Loyalist lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada.-Early life and education:...	York	October 8, 1808	September 1825	resigned office
Prideaux Selby Prideaux Selby Prideaux Selby was an English soldier and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Alnwick, Northumberland, England a son of the Holy Island branch of the Selby family...	York	October 8, 1808	May 9, 1813	died in office
Isaac Brock Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB was a British Army officer and administrator. Brock was assigned to Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he commanded his regiment in Upper Canada successfully for many years...	York	September 30, 1812	October 13, 1812	died in office
Roger Hale Sheaffe Roger Hale Sheaffe General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, 1st Baronet was an American-born General in the British Army in the first part of the 19th century.-Early career:...	?	October 20, 1812	June 4, 1813	replaced after being recalled to England
Baron Francis de Rottenburg Francis de Rottenburg Major-General Francis de Rottenburg, baron de Rottenburg was raised in what is now Gdańsk in Poland to a Swiss family and became a British military officer and colonial administrator. He spent almost a decade in the French army which came to an end with the French Revolution...	?	June 19, 1813	N/A	never attended
Gordon Drummond Gordon Drummond Sir Gordon Drummond, GCB was the first Canadian-born officer to command the military and the civil government of Canada...	?	November 4, 1813	March 1814	became Governor-General and Administrator of Canada
Samuel Smith Samuel Smith (Upper Canada) Samuel Smith was a Loyalist British army officer and politician. He was appointed to the Executive Council of Upper Canada and appointed Administrator of Upper Canada....	Etobicoke	November 30, 1813	October 1825	retired
John Strachan John Strachan John 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...  2	York	May 11, 1815	March 12, 1836	resigned 3
William Claus	Niagara Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...	February 12, 1818	September 1824	retired? died of cancer 1826
George Herchmer Markland George Herchmer Markland George Herchmer Markland was a political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Kingston around 1790 and was educated at Cornwall by John Strachan. During the War of 1812, he served with the Frontenac militia. In 1820, he was appointed to the Legislative Council for the province...  4	York	October 22, 1822	March 12, 1836	resigned 3
Peter Robinson Peter Robinson (1785-1838) Peter Robinson was born in New Brunswick, the eldest son of Christopher Robinson and Esther Sayre, ayre. He had two brothers, John Beverley and William Benjamin, and two sisters....	York	December 24, 1823	March 12, 1836	resigned 3
James Buchanan Macaulay James Buchanan Macaulay Colonel Sir James Buchannan Macaulay, CB was a Canadian lawyer and judge.Macaulay, born at Newark, Upper Canada, 3 December 1793, was the second son of James Macaulay by his wife Elizabeth Tuck Hayter...	York	May 5, 1825	July 1829	resigned and appointed temporary judge of the Court of Queen's Bench, later as permanent judge
William Campbell William Campbell (jurist) Sir William Campbell was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Upper Canada and a resident of Toronto. He also held political appointments in both Nova Scotia and Upper Canada.He was born in Caithness, Scotland in 1758...	York	October 26, 1825	March 1828	unable to attend due to poor health and retired 1829
John Beverley Robinson	York	April 25, 1829	January 25, 1831	resigned
Joseph Wells Joseph Wells Joseph Algernon Wells was a British track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.He was born and died in Ware....	York	September 13, 1830	March 12, 1836	resigned 3
John Elmsley, Jr.	York	September 20, 1830	1841	retired to management of his personal business
Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin was born at York . He, along with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, led the first responsible ministry in Canada, regarded by some as the first truly Canadian government....	Toronto	February 20, 1836	March 12, 1836	resigned 3
John Henry Dunn John Henry Dunn John Henry Dunn was a businessman and political figure in Canada West. He served as Receiver General for Upper Canada from 1820 to 1841....	Toronto	February 20, 1836	March 12, 1836	resigned 3
John Rolph	Toronto	February 20, 1836	March 12, 1836	resigned 3
William Allan William 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...	Toronto	March 14, 1836	February 10, 1841	retired
Augustus Warren Baldwin Augustus Warren Baldwin Augustus Warren Baldwin was a naval officer and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born near Lisnagat in County Cork, Ireland in 1776 and joined the merchant navy in 1792, eventually being given command of his own ship. He retired to Upper Canada near York in 1817...	Toronto	March 14, 1836	February 10, 1841	re-appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
John Elmsley, Jr.	Toronto	March 14, 1836	January 8, 1839	second term
Robert Baldwin Sullivan Robert Baldwin Sullivan Robert Baldwin Sullivan, QC , was a Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician who became the 2nd Mayor of Toronto....	Toronto	March 14, 1836	February 10, 1841	not re-appointed; later appointed to the Queen's Bench
William Henry Draper William Henry Draper William Henry Draper was a lawyer, judge, and politician in Upper Canada later Canada West.-Personal life:...	Toronto	December 27, 1836	February 10, 1841	elected to the 1st Parliament of the United Canadas 1841
Richard Alexander Tucker	Kingston Kingston, Ontario Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...	December 8, 1838	February 10, 1841	appointed registrar of the Province of Canada in 1841-1851; retired to England 1851

Notes:

1. Æneas Shaw was an honorary member after 1803.
2. The Reverend John Strachan was an honorary member until July 25, 1817.
3. On March 12, 1836, all members of the council resigned to protest when the new Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head
   Francis Bond Head
   Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet KCH PC , known as "Galloping Head", was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada during the rebellion of 1837.-Biography:...
   
   refused to consult with his council.
4. George Markland was an honorary member until July 6, 1827.

External links

• Ontario's Historical Plaques