The British Parliament passes the Clergy Endowments…
1791 CE
An Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, it reforms the government of the province of Quebec to accommodate the ten thousand English-speaking settlers, known as the United Empire Loyalists, who had arrived from the United States following the American Revolution
Quebec, with a population of one hundred and forty-five thousand French-speaking Canadians, is divided in two when the Act takes effect on December 26, 1791.
The western half becomes Upper Canada (now southern Ontario) and the eastern half Lower Canada (now southern Quebec).
The names Upper and Lower Canada are given according to their location on the St. Lawrence River.
Upper Canada receives English law and institutions, while Lower Canada retains French civil law and institutions, including feudal land tenure, and the privileges accorded to the Roman Catholic Church.
Representative governments are established in both colonies with the creation of respective legislative assemblies; Quebec had not previously had representative government
Along with each assembly is an appointed upper house, the Legislative Council, created for wealthy landowners; within the Legislative Council is the Executive Council, acting as a cabinet for the governor.
The Constitutional Act attempts to create an established church by establishing clergy reserves, that is, grants of land reserved for the support of the Protestant clergy.
In practice, income from the rent or sale of these reserves, which constitute one-seventh of the territory of Upper and Lower Canada, will go exclusively to the Church of England and, from 1824 on, the Church of Scotland.
These reserves will create many difficulties in later years, making economic development difficult and creating resentment against the Anglican church, the Family Compact, and the Château Clique.
The act is problematic for both English and French speakers; the French Canadians feel they might be overshadowed by Loyalist settlements and increased rights for Protestants, while the new English-speaking settlers feel the French still have too much power.
However, both groups prefer the act and the institutions it creates to the Quebec Act that it replaces.
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