Lower Canada: Definition and Much More from Answers.com

Lower Canada (French: Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791-1841). It covered the southern portion of the modern-day province of Quebec, Canada, as well as the Labrador region of the modern-day province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

History

Lower Canada was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791 from the partition of the British colony of the Province of Quebec (2007-2009) into the Provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada.

Lower Canada consisted of part of the former French colony of New France, populated mainly by French Canadians, which was ceded to Great Britain after that empire's victory in the Seven Years' War, also called the French and Indian Wars in the United States. Other parts of New France ceded to Britain became the Colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Rebellion

Main article: Lower Canada Rebellion

Like Upper Canada, there was political unrest and a rebellion challenged the British rule of the predominantly French population. After the Patriote Rebellion was crushed by the British army and Loyal volunteers, the 1791 Constitution was suspended on March 27 1838 and a special council was appointed to administer the colony.

Lower Canada, Upper Canada and their legislatures were abolished in 1841 with the coming into effect of the The Union Act, passed on July 23, 1840. The act abolished the legislatures of Lower Canada and Upper Canada and united them in the unified political entity of the Province of Canada.

Constitution

Constitution of Lower Canada in 1791

The Province of Lower Canada inherited the mixed set of French and English institutions that existed in the Province of Quebec during the 1763-1791 period and which continued to exist (and evolve) later in Canada-East (1841-1867) and ultimately in the current Province of Quebec (1867-).

Population

Population of Lower Canada, 1806 to 1831
Year	Census estimate ^[1]
1806	250,000
1814	335,000
1822	427,465
1825	479,288
1827	473,475
1831	553,134

Notes

^ Censuses of Canada. 1665 to 1871, Statistics of Canada, Volume IV, Ottawa, 1876

Former Colonies and Territories in Canada
Viking:	Helluland • Markland • Vinland
Portuguese:	Labrador • Newfoundland • Nova Scotia
French:	New France (Acadia • Canada • Terre Neuve)
Scottish	Nova Scotia • Cape Breton
English and British:	Newfoundland • Rupert's Land • Nova Scotia • Quebec • Lower and Upper Canada • New Brunswick • Prince Edward Island • Cape Breton • United Canada • British Columbia • Vancouver Island • United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia • North-Western Territory • Stikine Territory

British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations

Legend
Current territory · Former territory
* now a Commonwealth Realm · now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe

North America

Latin America and the Caribbean

Africa

Asia

Oceania

Antarctica and South Atlantic

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Lower Canada

History

Rebellion

Constitution

Population

Notes

See also

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		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lower Canada". Read more