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The Québec Act, 1774, brought some measure of peace
to the province - although British merchants kept campaigning for
English law and
an elected Assembly.
These campaigns might have been ignored if it were not for the event
that rocked the continent: the American
Revolution. The United Empire Loyalists
that poured into Québec following this event changed the
politics of the province forever.
Topics in this section:
The Québec Act, 1774
Continued Protests
The American Revolution
The United Empire Loyalists
Carleton's Challenge
The Move to Representative Government
Eastern North America, 1774
The Québec Act,
1774
The Québec Act, along with the instructions given
to Governor
Carleton, marked a new beginning. Among other things, these
documents:
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Expanded the boundaries of Québec, particularly to the
south.
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Allowed free practice of Catholic faith in Québec.
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Replaced the oath to Elizabeth I and her heirs (with references
to Protestant faith) with one to George III (and no reference
to Protestant faith).
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Allowed the practice of civil
law to continue.
It did not call for an assembly, allowing the governor to continue
ruling with his council.
Continued Protests
The Québec Act satisfied the Canadian inhabitants
of Québec, and some of the demands of the British merchants,
but did not lead to representative government. In the Thirteen
Colonies, however, the Québec Act was quickly
denounced as one of the "Intolerable
Acts," objecting to the limits it set on westward expansion.
British merchants in Québec continued to demand representative
government through a House
of Assembly.
The American Revolution
The United States declared independence on July 4, 1776. The American
Continental Congress attempted to convince Canadians to join them
in a poorly-worded letter, but French Canadians chose to stay neutral.
This was attributed in part to the Québec Act, 1774,
which protected the Catholic faith and the social hierarchy - something
they doubted that Americans would do.
Nova Scotia and Île St-Jean (later Prince Edward Island)
remained loyal for their own reasons: most of their population was
newly arrived from Britain, and Halifax was a naval base. It was
officially prohibited to settle on Newfoundland; those that stayed
illegally were to far from the Revolution or the sentiment of the
Americans to consider joining.
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To learn more about the effect of the American
Revolution on British North America:
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The United Empire Loyalists
When hostilities ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783,
both Nova Scotia and Québec suddenly became refuges for thousands
of citizens of the Thirteen
Colonies that had remained loyal the Crown.
These new settlers, the United Empire Loyalists, brought with them
expectations for representative government that gave new strength
to the demands made earlier by British merchants.
Carleton's Challenge
Carleton, now Lord Dorchester, returned as governor in 1786, with
the knowledge that changes would have to be made to satisfy the
Loyalists. However, he felt that Canadians were still too politically
naïve for representative government.
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The Move to Representative Government
and a Divided Province
It was soon realized that a new constitution would be needed to
settle these problems, as well as other unstated ones:
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The British government hoped to reduce expenses by giving colonial
assemblies the power of taxation.
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It was thought important to strengthen the ties between the
provinces and Britain by correcting the weaknesses of earlier
constitutions.
As the loyalists had settled mostly west of the French Canadian
centres of population (in what is now Ontario) the British government
decided - against Carleton's wishes - to divide the province. This
was seen as the best way to satisfy the interests of both the Loyalists
and the Canadians.
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