Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada
Encyclopedia
Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada were the leaders of the Province of Canada
, from the 1841 unification of Upper Canada
and Lower Canada
until Confederation
in 1867.
Following the abortive Rebellions of 1837
, Lord Durham
was appointed governor in chief of British North America
. In his 1839 Report on the Affairs of British North America
, he recommended that Upper and Lower Canada be united
under a single Parliament, with responsible government. As a result, in 1841, the first Parliament of Canada was convened.
Although Canada East (the former Lower Canada
, now Quebec
) and Canada West (the former Upper Canada
, now Ontario
) were united as a single province with a single government, each administration was led by two men, one from each half of the province. Officially, one of them at any given time had the title of Premier, while the other had the title of Deputy. Says Canadian journalist Colby Cosh
: "In truth, one or the other was ordinarily recognized as the formal head of government: the Macdonald-Cartier ministry was at times a Cartier-Macdonald ministry, for example, as the first ministership switched from the proto-Ontarian to the proto-Quebecker."
This form of government proved to be fractious and difficult, leading to frequent changes in leadership — in just 26 years, the joint premiership changed hands eighteen times, with twenty different people holding the office over the course of its history.
With the introduction of responsible government
in 1848, Robert Baldwin
and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
became the first truly democratic leaders of what would eventually become the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in present-day Canada
, and some modern historian
s, most notably John Ralston Saul
, have promoted the idea that they should be viewed as Canada's true first Prime Ministers
.
in Canada West and Patriotes in Canada East, while the "conservatives," meaning supporters of the elitist Family Compact
in Canada West and Château Clique
in Canada East prior to unification, were known as Tories. Although informal alliances existed between each ideological pair, these alliances were not political parties as they exist today.
1854, however, proved a pivotal year in the evolution of Canadian politics. Although the Rouges and the Liberals had already emerged in Canada East, these were relatively fringe groups. In 1854, however, many dissatisfied voters in Canada West turned to the more radical Clear Grit
faction, and in order to stay in power traditional reformers in Canada East, led by Augustin-Norbert Morin
, entered a coalition with Allan Napier MacNab's conservatives in Canada West.
The early reformers ultimately dissolved as a political entity. Moderate reformers joined the new "Liberal-Conservative" party, later to become the Conservative Party
, while the Clear Grits aligned with the Liberals and the Rouges to create the modern Liberal Party
, thereby creating the political party structure that prevails today.
The pattern of new protest parties emerging from time to time, and becoming integrated into the mainstream of Canadian political life, was also established by this realignment. Later groups included the Progressives
, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, the Social Credit Party of Canada
and the Reform Party of Canada
.
-Cartier
ministry, which governed the Province of Canada from 1857 to 1862 (except for four days in 1858 when power was briefly ceded to the Brown
-Dorion
government). It was during their ministry that the first organized moves toward Canadian Confederation
took place, and John A. Macdonald himself became the first Prime Minister of Canada
in 1867. Macdonald-Cartier has survived in Canada as a geographic and institutional name, which has been applied to high schools in Ottawa
, Sudbury and Saint-Hubert
, the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
and the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge
linking Ottawa with Gatineau. "Macdonald-Cartier Freeway" was also the historical name of Highway 401
.
The Lafontaine
-Baldwin
government has also lent its name to the annual LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium
on Canadian social, cultural and political topics. No other joint premiership currently has any Canadian institutions or geographic features named for it per se, although individual people who held the position may be so honoured as individuals.
The continuing, although informal, government position of the Quebec lieutenant
, who is designated as the Prime Minister's primary advisor and spokesman on issues related to Quebec
, may be viewed as an indirect descendant of the joint premiership, although the position is far from equivalent in terms of the actual power it wields within a government.
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...
, from the 1841 unification 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...
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...
until Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
in 1867.
Following the abortive Rebellions of 1837
Rebellions of 1837
The Rebellions of 1837 were a pair of Canadian armed uprisings that occurred in 1837 and 1838 in response to frustrations in political reform. A key shared goal was the allowance of responsible government, which was eventually achieved in the incident's aftermath.-Rebellions:The rebellions started...
, Lord Durham
John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham
John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham GCB, PC , also known as "Radical Jack" and commonly referred to in history texts simply as Lord Durham, was a British Whig statesman, colonial administrator, Governor General and high commissioner of British North America...
was appointed governor in chief of British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
. In his 1839 Report on the Affairs of British North America
Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839)
The Report on the Affairs of British North America, commonly known as The Durham Report, is an important document in the history of Quebec, Ontario, Canada and the British Empire....
, he recommended that Upper and Lower Canada be united
Act of Union 1840
The Act of Union, formally the The British North America Act, 1840 , was enacted in July 1840 and proclaimed 10 February 1841. It abolished the legislatures of Lower Canada and Upper Canada and established a new political entity, the Province of Canada to replace them...
under a single Parliament, with responsible government. As a result, in 1841, the first Parliament of Canada was convened.
Although Canada East (the former 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...
, now Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) and Canada West (the former 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...
, now Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
) were united as a single province with a single government, each administration was led by two men, one from each half of the province. Officially, one of them at any given time had the title of Premier, while the other had the title of Deputy. Says Canadian journalist Colby Cosh
Colby Cosh
Colby Cosh is a Canadian commentator, writer and editor of non-fiction, and blogger.-Life and career:Cosh was born in Edmonton, Alberta and grew up in Bon Accord, Alberta, north of Edmonton. He graduated from the University of Alberta in 1993, doing further study in European intellectual history...
: "In truth, one or the other was ordinarily recognized as the formal head of government: the Macdonald-Cartier ministry was at times a Cartier-Macdonald ministry, for example, as the first ministership switched from the proto-Ontarian to the proto-Quebecker."
This form of government proved to be fractious and difficult, leading to frequent changes in leadership — in just 26 years, the joint premiership changed hands eighteen times, with twenty different people holding the office over the course of its history.
With the introduction of responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
in 1848, 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....
and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
Sir Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine , 1st Baronet, KCMG was the first Canadian to become Prime Minister of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible government in Canada. He was born in Boucherville, Lower Canada in 1807...
became the first truly democratic leaders of what would eventually become the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in present-day Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and some modern historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s, most notably John Ralston Saul
John Ralston Saul
John Ralston Saul, CC is a Canadian author, essayist, and President of International PEN.As an essayist, Saul is particularly known for his commentaries on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good; the failures of manager-, or more precisely technocrat-, led societies; the...
, have promoted the idea that they should be viewed as Canada's true first Prime Ministers
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
.
Evolution of party politics
In earlier years, the political groups were loose affiliations rather than modern political parties. The "reformers" allied under the banner of ReformersReform Party (pre-Confederation)
The Reform movement, sometimes referred to as the Reform Party, began in the 1830s as the movement in the English speaking parts of British North America . It agitated for responsible government....
in Canada West and Patriotes in Canada East, while the "conservatives," meaning supporters of the elitist 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...
in Canada West and Château Clique
Château Clique
The Clique du Château or Château Clique was a group of wealthy families in Lower Canada in the early 19th century. They were the Lower Canadian equivalent of the Family Compact in Upper Canada...
in Canada East prior to unification, were known as Tories. Although informal alliances existed between each ideological pair, these alliances were not political parties as they exist today.
1854, however, proved a pivotal year in the evolution of Canadian politics. Although the Rouges and the Liberals had already emerged in Canada East, these were relatively fringe groups. In 1854, however, many dissatisfied voters in Canada West turned to the more radical Clear Grit
Clear Grits
Clear Grits were reformers in the Province of Upper Canada, a British colony that is now the Province of Ontario, Canada. Their support was concentrated among southwestern Ontario farmers, who were frustrated and disillusioned by the 1849 Reform government of Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte...
faction, and in order to stay in power traditional reformers in Canada East, led by Augustin-Norbert Morin
Augustin-Norbert Morin
Augustin-Norbert Morin was a lawyer, judgeBorn in Saint-Michel, Lower Canada, into a large Roman Catholic farming family, Morin was identified by the parish priest at a young age as a boy of exceptional talent and intelligence. The parish priest therefore arranged for his education at the...
, entered a coalition with Allan Napier MacNab's conservatives in Canada West.
The early reformers ultimately dissolved as a political entity. Moderate reformers joined the new "Liberal-Conservative" party, later to become the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
, while the Clear Grits aligned with the Liberals and the Rouges to create the modern Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
, thereby creating the political party structure that prevails today.
The pattern of new protest parties emerging from time to time, and becoming integrated into the mainstream of Canadian political life, was also established by this realignment. Later groups included the Progressives
Progressive Party of Canada
The Progressive Party of Canada was a political party in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces and, in Manitoba, ran candidates and formed governments as the Progressive Party of Manitoba...
, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, the Social Credit Party of Canada
Social Credit Party of Canada
The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
and the Reform Party of Canada
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
.
Continuing influence
The best-known premiership has arguably been the MacdonaldJohn A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
-Cartier
George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, PC was a French-Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.The English spelling of the name, George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling, is explained by his having been named in honour of King George III....
ministry, which governed the Province of Canada from 1857 to 1862 (except for four days in 1858 when power was briefly ceded to the Brown
George Brown (Canadian politician)
George Brown was a Scottish-born Canadian journalist, politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation...
-Dorion
Antoine-Aimé Dorion
Sir Antoine-Aimé Dorion, PC was a French Canadian politician and jurist.-Early years:He was born in Lower Canada in 1818, the son of Pierre-Antoine Dorion, a merchant and member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada who supported Louis-Joseph Papineau...
government). It was during their ministry that the first organized moves toward Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
took place, and John A. Macdonald himself became the first Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
in 1867. Macdonald-Cartier has survived in Canada as a geographic and institutional name, which has been applied to high schools in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Sudbury and Saint-Hubert
Saint-Hubert, Quebec
Saint-Hubert is a borough in the city of Longueuil, located in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada. It had been a separate city prior to January 1, 2002, when it along with several other neighbouring south shore municipalities were merged into Longueuil. According to the Quebec Statistics...
, the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International Airport or Macdonald-Cartier International Airport , in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is named after Sirs John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier...
and the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge
Macdonald-Cartier Bridge
The Macdonald-Cartier Bridge is a bridge connecting Ottawa, Ontario, to Gatineau, Quebec. The bridge is a 618 m long continuous steel box girder bridge and carries six lanes of traffic. It links King Edward Avenue and Sussex Drive in Ottawa with Autoroute 5 in Quebec...
linking Ottawa with Gatineau. "Macdonald-Cartier Freeway" was also the historical name of Highway 401
Highway 401 (Ontario)
King's Highway 401, also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway and colloquially as the four-oh-one, is a 400-Series Highway in the Canadian province of Ontario stretching from Windsor to the Quebec border...
.
The Lafontaine
Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
Sir Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine , 1st Baronet, KCMG was the first Canadian to become Prime Minister of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible government in Canada. He was born in Boucherville, Lower Canada in 1807...
-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....
government has also lent its name to the annual LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium
LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium
The LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium is a Canadian forum created through the joint effort of John Ralston Saul and the Dominion Institute. Founded in 2000, the Symposium's purpose is to stimulate debate about the historical antecedents and future shape of the Canadian democracy...
on Canadian social, cultural and political topics. No other joint premiership currently has any Canadian institutions or geographic features named for it per se, although individual people who held the position may be so honoured as individuals.
The continuing, although informal, government position of the Quebec lieutenant
Quebec lieutenant
In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a politician, from Quebec, usually a francophone and most often a Member of Parliament or at least a current or former candidate for Parliament, who is selected by a senior politician such as the Prime Minister or the leader of a national federal party,...
, who is designated as the Prime Minister's primary advisor and spokesman on issues related to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, may be viewed as an indirect descendant of the joint premiership, although the position is far from equivalent in terms of the actual power it wields within a government.