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CONSTITUTIONAL ACT (1791)
Passed by the parliament of Britain under pressure from the United Empire Loyalists who had arrived in Canada (many into the old province of Quebec) and wished to continue to live under British institutions, this Act divided the old province of Quebec into Upper Canada (now Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). A powerful British minority remained in Lower Canada and these people were given significant representation in the legislative assembly (30% of the seats for 10% of the population). Upper Canada elected to develop British institutions, while Lower Canada choose to retain the arrangements it had been granted under the Quebec Act of 1774. See: UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS / .

Last updated 2002--0-9-

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Athabaca University ICAAP

© Robert Drislane, Ph.D. and Gary Parkinson, Ph.D.
The online version of this dictionary is a product of
Athabasca University and
ICAAP

*This social science dictionary has 1000
entries covering the disciplines of sociology, criminology, political
science and women's study with a commitment to Canadian examples and
events and names