89-817: The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas ) was a British colony in British 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 1837–1838 . The Act of Union 1840 , passed on 23 July 1840 by the British Parliament and proclaimed by
178-842: A "Reform Association" in February 1844, to unite the Reform movement in Canada West and to explain their understanding of responsible government. Twenty-two branches were established. A grand meeting of all branches of the Reform Association was held in the Second Meeting House of the Children of Peace in Sharon . Over three thousand people attended this rally for Baldwin. the Association was not, however,
267-483: A bill was passed to replace the process of appointing members by a process of electing members. Members were to be elected from 24 divisions in each of Canada East and Canada West. Twelve members were elected every two years from 1856 to 1862. Members previously appointed were not required to relinquish their seats. Canada West, with its 450,000 inhabitants, was represented by 42 seats in the Legislative Assembly,
356-493: A constitutional crisis that would last a year. Metcalfe refused to recall the legislature to demonstrate its irrelevance; he could rule without it. This year-long crisis, in which the legislature was prorogued, "was the final signpost on Upper Canada's conceptual road to democracy. Lacking the scale of the American Revolution, it nonetheless forced a comparable articulation and rethinking of the basics of political dialogue in
445-550: A different type of English colonial administration before then. ^ Ben Bathurst Parliament Hill Parliament Hill ( French : Colline du Parlement ), colloquially known as The Hill , is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa , Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose architectural elements were chosen to evoke
534-455: A historically specific project of rule, rather than either an essence we must defend or an empty homogeneous space we must possess. Canada-as-project can be analyzed as the implantation and expansion over a heterogeneous terrain of a certain politico-economic logic—to wit, liberalism." The liberalism of which McKay writes is not that of a specific political party, but of certain practices of state building which prioritise property, first of all, and
623-572: A nine-pounder naval cannon to Ottawa's British army garrison in 1854. The newly created government of the Dominion of Canada purchased the cannon in 1869 and fired it on Parliament Hill as the Noonday Gun, which was colloquially known as "Old Chum", for many years. By 1876, the structures of Parliament Hill, and the surrounding fence and gates, were completed. The grounds were designed with the help of architects Thomas Scott and Calvert Vaux . Following
712-647: A right to make Executive Council and other appointments without the input of the legislative assembly. However, in 1848 the Earl of Elgin , then Governor General, appointed a Cabinet nominated by the majority party of the Legislative Assembly, the Baldwin–Lafontaine coalition that had won elections in January. Lord Elgin upheld the principles of responsible government by not repealing the Rebellion Losses Bill, which
801-521: A series of incendiary articles published in The Gazette , protested against the Rebellion Losses Bill and burned down Montreal's parliament buildings . It then moved to Toronto (1849–1851). It moved to Quebec City from 1851 to 1855, then returned to Toronto from 1855 to 1859 before returning to Quebec City from 1859 to 1865. In 1857, Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the permanent capital of
890-604: A true political party and individual members voted independently. The Parti rouge (alternatively known as the Parti démocratique) was formed in Canada East around 1848 by radical French Canadians inspired by the ideas of Louis-Joseph Papineau , the Institut canadien de Montréal , and the reformist movement led by the Parti patriote of the 1830s. The reformist rouges did not believe that
979-753: Is defined as resting between the Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau Canal and the Colonel By Valley to the east, Wellington Street to the south, and a service road called Kent Street near the Supreme Court to the west. A Victorian, high-gothic, wrought iron fence demarcates the south front of the property. The fence, which is named the Wellington Wall, has its centre on an axis with the Peace Tower to
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#17328374262581068-623: Is fronted by the Peace Tower on the south facade, and the Library of Parliament lies at the building's rear. The East Block contains ministers' and senators' offices, meeting rooms, and other administrative spaces. The West Block is serving as the temporary seat of the House of Commons. The buildings' unifying architectural style is Gothic Revival . More than 20 bronze statues in the grounds commemorate important figures in Canada's history. Most are arranged in
1157-456: The Centre Block and departmental buildings were separately awarded. The first was awarded to the team of Thomas Fuller and Chilion Jones , with their Victorian High Gothic scheme of a formal, symmetrical front facing a quadrangle and a more rustic, picturesque back facing the escarpment and bluffs overlooking the Ottawa River. The team of Thomas Stent and Augustus Laver won the prize for
1246-626: The Crown on 10 February 1841, merged the Colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada by abolishing their separate parliaments and replacing them with a single one with two houses, a Legislative Council as the upper chamber and the Legislative Assembly as the lower chamber. In the aftermath of the Rebellions of 1837–1838, unification of the two Canadas was driven by two factors. Firstly, Upper Canada
1335-489: The Department of Public Works issued a call for design proposals for the new parliament buildings on Barrack Hill, for which 298 drawings were submitted. The number of entries was reduced to three but the panel of judges could not decide whose design should win the contest. Governor General Sir Edmund Walker Head was approached to break the stalemate, and the winners were announced on 29 August 1859. Contracts to build
1424-645: The Gibraltarians ) found that their "Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies" had changed overnight to British Dependent Territories Citizenship , a form of British citizenship that stripped them of some of their rights, including the right to reside and work in the United Kingdom. From 2002, the dependent territories have been known officially as British Overseas Territories . Early English colonies were often proprietary colonies , usually established and administered by companies under charters granted by
1513-572: The House of Assembly of Bermuda has existed continuously since its first session in 1620, Bermuda has only had responsible government since 1968. (Bermuda became a Crown colony in 1684, when the government revoked a royal charter given to the Somers Isles Company , successor to the Virginia Company , which had previously controlled administration, including the appointment of governors. Afterwards
1602-640: The Rebellions of 1837 . Lord Elgin granted royal assent to the bill despite heated Tory opposition and his own personal misgivings, sparking riots in Montreal, during which Elgin himself was assaulted by an English-speaking Orange Order mob and the Parliament buildings were burned down. It was under Head, that true political party government was introduced with the Liberal-Conservative Party of John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier in 1856. It
1691-565: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The incident ended when the shooter was killed by Vickers and RCMP Constable Curtis Barrett. Following the incidents, the Parliamentary Protective Service was created to integrate the House of Commons and Senate security forces with RCMP patrols of the grounds. Since 2002, an extensive $ 3 billion renovation-and-rehabilitation project has been underway throughout
1780-620: The Sir John A. Macdonald Building was completed in 2015 and work on the Wellington Building was completed in 2016. An architectural competition is being held for designs pertaining to the city block south of Wellington Street and a new Visitors Welcome Centre is being built. The nine-hectare (22-acre) area, which the National Capital Commission maintains, is named by the Parliament of Canada Act as "Parliament Hill" and
1869-732: The United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire . There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government , with or without the assistance of a local council. In some cases, this council was split into two: an executive council and a legislative council , and the executive council was similar to the Privy Council that advises
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#17328374262581958-550: The War of 1812 and the Upper Canada rebellion but the threat of an American invasion subsided and the project was scrapped. In 1858, Queen Victoria selected Ottawa as the capital of the Province of Canada . Barrack Hill was chosen as the site of the new parliament buildings for its prominence over the town and the river, and because the Crown already owned it. On 7 May 1859,
2047-504: The 1830s. Their support was concentrated among southwestern Canada West farmers, who were frustrated and disillusioned by the 1849 Reform government of Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine's lack of democratic enthusiasm. The Clear Grits advocated universal male suffrage , representation by population , democratic institutions, reductions in government expenditure, abolition of the Clergy reserves , voluntarism , and free trade with
2136-552: The 1840 Act of Union had truly granted a responsible government to former Upper and Lower Canada. They advocated important democratic reforms, republicanism, separation of the state and the church . In 1858, the elected rouges allied with the Clear Grits . This resulted in the shortest-lived government in Canadian history, falling in less than a day. The Clear Grits were the inheritors of William Lyon Mackenzie's Reform movement of
2225-511: The Anglophones opposed. The granting of responsible government to the colony is typically attributed to reforms in 1848 (principally the effective transfer of control over patronage from the Governor to the elected ministry). These reforms resulted in the appointment of the second Baldwin–Lafontaine government that quickly removed many of the disabilities on French-Canadian political participation in
2314-918: The British Government – such as Hong Kong , before its transfer in 1997 to the People's Republic of China . In 2002, the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 further changed their name to British Overseas Territories . There were three types of Crown colony as of 1918, with differing degrees of autonomy: Crown colonies with representative councils , such as Bermuda , Jamaica , Ceylon and Fiji , contained two legislative chambers, consisting of Crown-appointed and locally elected members. Crown colonies with nominated councils , such as British Honduras , Sierra Leone , British Windward Islands and Hong Kong , were staffed entirely by Crown-appointed members, with some appointed representation from
2403-673: The British government appointed the Governor of Bermuda .) Despite its later usage, the term "Crown colony" was used primarily, until the mid-19th century, to refer to colonies that had been acquired through wars, such as Trinidad and Tobago . After that time it was more broadly applied to every British territory other than British India , and self-governing colonies, such as the Province of Canada , Newfoundland , British Columbia , New South Wales , Queensland , South Australia , Tasmania , Victoria , Western Australia , and New Zealand . By
2492-516: The Canadas and for responsible government (a government accountable to an independent local legislature), only the first of the two recommendations was implemented in 1841. For the first seven years, the government was led by an appointed governor general accountable only to the British government . Responsible government was not achieved until the second LaFontaine–Baldwin ministry in 1849, when Governor General James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin , agreed that
2581-626: The Centre Block on 1 September. Construction of Parliament Hill became the largest construction project undertaken in North America to that date. Workers hit bedrock sooner than expected, necessitating blasting to complete the foundations, which the architects had altered to sit 5.2 metres (17 ft) deeper than originally planned. By early 1861, the Canadian Department of Public Works reported over $ 1.4 million had been spent on
2670-558: The Centre Block on 7 February 2012, one day after Accession Day . On 22 October 2014, shooting incidents occurred around Parliament Hill . After fatally shooting a Canadian Army soldier stationed as a ceremonial guard at the National War Memorial , a gunman entered the Centre Block of the parliament buildings. There, the shooter engaged in a firefight with Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons Kevin Vickers and members of
2759-462: The Crown. It delegated authority to municipal governments so they could raise taxes and enact by-laws . It also established a hierarchy of types of municipal governments, starting at the top with cities and continued down past towns, villages and finally townships. This system was to prevail for the next 150 years. During the year-long constitutional crisis in 1843–44, when Metcalfe prorogued Parliament to demonstrate its irrelevance, Baldwin established
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2848-399: The Legislative Assembly would now become responsible for local administration and legislation. It also deprived the Governor of patronage appointments to the civil service, which had been the basis of Metcalfe's policy. The test of responsible government came in 1849, when the Baldwin–Lafontaine government passed the Rebellion Losses Bill, compensating French Canadians for losses suffered during
2937-551: The Legislature introduced the Gradual Civilization Act , putting into law the principle that Indigenous persons should become British subjects and discard their Indian status, in exchange for a grant of land. 45°30′N 75°30′W / 45.5°N 75.5°W / 45.5; -75.5 British colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England , and then Great Britain or
3026-772: The National Police Memorial. Beyond the edges of these landscaped areas, the escarpment remains in its natural state. At its base runs part of the Trans-Canada Trail , the portion between the West Block and the Supreme Court building being named the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Trail, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth's accession to the Canadian throne . In 1976,
3115-535: The Parliament Buildings and the grounds of Parliament Hill were each designated as National Historic Sites of Canada due to their importance as the physical embodiment of the Canadian government and as the focal point of national celebrations. The Parliament of Canada Act prohibits anyone naming any other area or establishment within the National Capital Region "Parliament Hill", and forbids
3204-493: The Province of Canada, initiating construction of Canada's first parliament buildings, on Parliament Hill . The first stage of this construction was completed in 1865, just in time to host the final session of the last parliament of the Province of Canada before Confederation in 1867. The Governor General remained the head of the civil administration of the colony, appointed by the British government, and responsible to it, not to
3293-537: The Province of Canada. It would become the province of Quebec after Confederation. Canada West was what became of the former colony of Upper Canada after being united into the Province of Canada. It would become the province of Ontario after Confederation. The location of the capital city of the Province of Canada changed six times in its 26-year history. The first capital was in Kingston (1841–1844). The capital moved to Montreal (1844–1849) until rioters, spurred by
3382-703: The Rebellion. The Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty of 1854, also known as the Elgin– Marcy Treaty, was a trade treaty between the United Province of Canada and the United States. It covered raw materials and was in effect from 1854 to 1865. It represented a move toward free trade. Education in Canada West was regulated by the province through the General Board of Education from 1846 until 1850, when it
3471-407: The Reform Party won a decisive victory at the polls. Elgin invited LaFontaine to form the new government, the first time a Governor General requested cabinet formation on the basis of party. The party character of the ministry meant that the elected premier – and no longer the governor – would be the head of the government. The Governor General would become a more symbolic figure. The elected Premier in
3560-520: The Reformers. Sydenham was a Whig who believed in rational government, not "responsible government". To implement his plan, he used widespread electoral violence through the Orange Order . His efforts to prevent the election of Louis LaFontaine , the leader of the French reformers, were foiled by David Willson , the leader of the Children of Peace , who convinced the electors of the 4th Riding of York to transcend linguistic prejudice and elect LaFontaine in an English-speaking riding in Canada West. Bagot
3649-516: The United States. Their platform was similar to that of the British Chartists . The Clear Grits and the Parti rouge evolved into the Liberal Party of Canada . The Parti bleu was a moderate political group in Canada East that emerged in 1854. It was based on the moderate reformist views of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine. The Liberal-Conservative Party emerged from a coalition government in 1854 in which moderate Reformers and Conservatives from Canada West joined with bleus from Canada East under
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3738-453: The University of Toronto and the school's ties with the Church of England were severed. The Grand Trunk Railway was incorporated by the Legislature in the 1850s. Exploration of Western Canada and Rupert's Land with a view to annexation and settlement was a priority of Canada West politicians in the 1850s leading to the Palliser Expedition and the Red River Expedition of Henry Youle Hind , George Gladman and Simon James Dawson . In 1857,
3827-416: The annual Canada Day celebrations and the Changing of the Guard . To the sides of the buildings are statues, memorials, and at the northwest corner a gazebo called the Summer Pavilion, which is a 1995 reconstruction of an earlier gazebo named Summer House. Summer House was built for the Speaker of the House of Commons in 1877 by Thomas Seaton Scott and demolished in 1956. Summer Pavilion now serves as
3916-455: The area occupied by the pre-1841 British colony of Lower Canada (which had included Labrador until 1809, when Labrador was transferred to the British colony of Newfoundland ). Upper Canada was primarily English-speaking, whereas Lower Canada was primarily French-speaking. The Province of Canada was divided into two parts: Canada East and Canada West . Canada East was what became of the former colony of Lower Canada after being united into
4005-449: The cabinet would be formed by the largest party in the Legislative Assembly, making the premier the head of the government and reducing the governor general to a more symbolic role. The Province of Canada ceased to exist at Canadian Confederation on 1 July 1867, when it was divided into the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec . Ontario included the area occupied by the pre-1841 British colony of Upper Canada, while Quebec included
4094-441: The capital of the new country. Within four years, Manitoba , British Columbia , Prince Edward Island , and the North-West Territories —now Alberta , Saskatchewan , Yukon , Northwest Territories , and Nunavut —were added and, along with the associated bureaucracy, the first three required representation be added in Parliament. The offices of Parliament spread to buildings beyond Parliament Hill. The British military allocated
4183-408: The centuries in some Crown colonies, more independent authority was given. All remaining British colonies, whether Crown (such as the Falkland Islands ) or self-governing (such as Bermuda ), were renamed " British Dependent Territories " from 1 January 1983 under the British Nationality Act 1981 . Many British citizens in the colonies (with the exceptions of the Falkland Islanders and subsequently
4272-417: The colony). He was promised a barony if he could successfully implement the union of the Canadas, and introduce a new form of municipal government, the District Council. The aim of both exercises in state-building was to strengthen the power of the Governor General, to minimise the effect of the numerically superior French vote, and to build a "middle party" that answered to him, rather than the Family Compact or
4361-471: The colony. Once the English population, rapidly growing through immigration, exceeded the French, the English demanded representation-by-population. In the end, the legislative deadlock between English and French led to a movement for a federal union which resulted in the broader Canadian Confederation in 1867. In "The Liberal Order Framework: A Prospectus for a Reconnaissance of Canadian History" McKay argues that "the category 'Canada' should henceforth denote
4450-462: The council and chair of the various committees. The first was Robert Baldwin Sullivan . Thomson also systematically organised the civil service into departments, the heads of which sat on the Executive Council. A further innovation was to demand that every Head of department seek election in the Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house . The 24 legislative councillors were originally appointed. In 1856,
4539-474: The day-to-day government of the conservative ministry of William Draper, thereby indirectly emphasising the need for responsible government. His primary focus was on redrafting the Militia Act of 1846. The signing of the Oregon Boundary Treaty in 1846 made him dispensable. Elgin's second wife, Lady Mary Louisa Lambton, was the daughter of Lord Durham and niece of Lord Grey , making him an ideal compromise figure to introduce responsible government. On his arrival,
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#17328374262584628-470: The death of Queen Victoria in 1901, in late September that year, Prince George, Duke of Cornwall (later King George V )—Queen Victoria's grandson—dedicated a large statue that stands on the hill in the late Queen's honour. On 3 February 1916, a fire destroyed the Centre Block. Despite the ongoing war , Governor General Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught , re-laid the original cornerstone on 1 September 1916, exactly fifty-six years after his brother
4717-440: The dual prime-ministership of Allan MacNab and A.-N. Morin . The new ministry were committed to secularise the Clergy reserves in Canada West and to abolish seigneurial tenure in Canada East. Over time, the Liberal-Conservatives evolved into the Conservative party. No provision for responsible government was included in the Act of Union 1840. Early Governors of the province were closely involved in political affairs, maintaining
4806-403: The east across the canal to build the Château Laurier hotel, growth of the parliamentary infrastructure moved westward along Wellington Street with the erection in the 1930s of the Confederation and Justice Buildings on the north side, and further construction to the south. By the 1970s, the Crown began purchasing other structures or leasing space in the downtown civic area of Ottawa. In 1973,
4895-437: The first raising of the country's new national flag took place on 15 February 1965. Queen Elizabeth II revisited Parliament Hill on 17 April 1982 for the issuing of a royal proclamation of the enactment of the Constitution Act that year. In April 1989, armed man Charles Yacoub hijacked a Greyhound Lines bus with eleven passengers on board that was travelling to New York City from Montreal, and drove it onto
4984-399: The first real premiers of the Province of Canada. However, to take office as ministers, the two had to run for re-election. While LaFontaine was easily re-elected in 4th York, Baldwin lost his seat in Hastings as a result of Orange Order violence. It was now that the pact between the two men was completely solidified, as LaFontaine arranged for Baldwin to run in Rimouski , Canada East. This was
5073-556: The future King Edward VII had first set it. Eleven years later, the rebuilt Centre Block was completed and a new, freestanding bell tower was dedicated as the Peace Tower in commemoration of the Canadians who had died during the First World War. Parliament Hill has hosted several significant events in Canadian history, including the first visit of the reigning Canadian sovereign King George VI and his consort Queen Elizabeth to his Parliament in 1939. A huge celebration on 8 May 1945 marked Victory in Europe Day , and
5162-476: The gardens behind the three parliamentary buildings and one stands outside the main fence. A number of other monuments are distributed across the hill, marking historical moments or acting as memorials for larger groups of people. Though Parliament Hill remains the heart of the parliamentary precinct, expansion beyond the bounded area began in the 1880s with the construction of the Langevin Block across Wellington Street. After private interests purchased land to
5251-433: The governor, overseen by the Colonial Office and the Board of Trade and Plantations . The Colonial Office gave way to the Dominion Office for some of these territories in 1925. Elected lower houses had their beginnings in the House of Burgesses of the Colony of Virginia in 1619 and the House of Assembly of the Parliament of Bermuda in 1620. While initially limited in government even with an elected lower house, over
5340-434: The grounds of Parliament Hill were designated as National Historic Sites of Canada . Since 2002, an extensive $ 3 billion renovation-and-rehabilitation project has been underway throughout the precinct's buildings that is expected to be completed after 2028. Parliament Hill is a limestone outcrop with a gently sloping top that was originally covered in a primeval forest of beech and hemlock . For hundreds of years,
5429-406: The hill was a landmark on the Ottawa River for First Nations people and later for European traders, adventurers, and industrialists, marking their journeys to the interior of the continent. After the founding of Ottawa , which was then called Bytown , the builders of the Rideau Canal sited a military base on the hill, naming it Barrack Hill. A large fortress was planned for the site following
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#17328374262585518-431: The history of parliamentary democracy . Parliament Hill attracts approximately three million visitors each year. The Parliamentary Protective Service is responsible for law enforcement on Parliament Hill and in the parliamentary precinct, while the National Capital Commission is responsible for maintaining the nine-hectare (22-acre) area of the grounds. Development of the area, which in the 18th and early 19th centuries
5607-400: The individual. The Baldwin Act 1849 , also known as the Municipal Corporations Act, replaced the local government system based on district councils in Canada West by government at the county level. It also granted more autonomy to townships, villages, towns and cities. Despite the controversy, the government compensated landowners in the Rebellion Losses Bill of 1849 for the actions during
5696-401: The lawn in front of the Centre Block. A six-hour standoff with police ensued; three shots were fired but there were no injuries. On 14 September 2001, 100,000 people gathered on the main lawn to honour the victims of the September 11 attacks on the United States that year. Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee was commemorated with the installation of a specially tinted window in
5785-399: The local legislature. He was aided by the Executive Council and the Legislative Council. The Executive Council aided in administration, and the Legislative Council reviewed legislation produced by the elected Legislative Assembly. Sydenham came from a wealthy family of timber merchants, and was an expert in finance, having served on the English Board of Trade which regulated banking (including
5874-439: The local population. Hong Kong had a representative council following the introduction of election for the Hong Kong Legislative Council in 1995. Crown colonies ruled directly by a governor , such as Basutoland , Gibraltar , Saint Helena and Singapore , were fewest in number and had the least autonomy. The "from" column lists the year the colony began to be administered by the Crown. These colonies may have existed under
5963-475: The mid-19th century, the monarch was appointing colonial governors only on the advice of the Secretary of State for the Colonies . The term Crown colony continued to be used until 1981, when the British Nationality Act 1981 reclassified the remaining British colonies as "British Dependent Territories". By this time, the term "Crown colony" referred specifically to colonies lacking substantial autonomy, which were administered by an executive governor, appointed by
6052-400: The monarch. Members of executive councils were appointed by the governors, and British citizens resident in Crown colonies either had no representation in local government, or limited representation in a lower house . In several Crown colonies, this limited representation grew over time. As the House of Commons of the British Parliament has never included seats for any of the colonies, there
6141-440: The monarch. The first "royal colony" was the Colony of Virginia , after 1624, when the Crown of the Kingdom of England revoked the royal charter it had granted to the Virginia Company and assumed control of the administration. Executive crown governors are sometimes complemented by a locally appointed and/or elected legislature with limited powers – that is, such territories lack responsible government . For example, while
6230-427: The north and the formal entrance to Parliament Hill the Queen's Gates , which Ives & Co. of Montreal forged. Approximately three million visitors come to the hill every year. The hill's main outdoor area is the formal forecourt, which is formed by the arrangement of the Parliament and departmental buildings on the site. This expanse is the site of major celebrations, demonstrations, and traditional shows such as
6319-437: The precinct's buildings to bring the Parliament buildings to modern safety standards and to address their deteriorated state; work is not expected to be complete until after 2028. The West Block was completed in November 2018 before the House of Commons moved there and renovations on the Senate of Canada Building concluded in 2019 to accommodate the Senate while the Centre Block and East Block undergo renovations. Work on
6408-450: The production of merchandise bearing that name. Any violation of this law is punishable on summary conviction. The Parliament Buildings are three edifices arranged around three sides of Parliament Hill's central lawn. The speakers of each chamber of the legislature oversee the use and administration of the spaces within each building. The Centre Block has the Senate and Commons chambers, and
6497-545: The province." In the ensuing election, however, the Reformers did not win a majority and thus were not called to form another ministry. Responsible government would be delayed until after 1848. Cathcart had been a staff officer with Wellington in the Napoleonic Wars, and rose in rank to become commander of British forces in North America from June 1845 to May 1847. He was also appointed as Administrator then Governor General for
6586-529: The requirement of a "double majority" to pass laws in the Legislative Assembly (i.e., a majority in both the Canada East and Canada West sections of the assembly). The removal of the deadlock resulted in three conferences that led to confederation. Thomson reformed the Executive Councils of Upper and Lower Canada by introducing a "President of the Committees of Council" to act as a chief executive officer for
6675-405: The rugged surroundings of still wilderness in northern North America, while being stately. $ 300,000 was allocated for the main building and $ 120,000 more for each of the several departmental buildings. Ground was broken on 20 December 1859 and the first stones were laid on 16 April the following year. Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII ), laid the cornerstone of
6764-417: The same number as the more populated Canada East, with 650,000 inhabitants. The Legislature's effectiveness was further hampered by the requirement of a "double majority" where a majority of votes for the passage of a bill had to be obtained from the members of both Canada East and West. Each administration was led by two men, one from each half of the province. Officially, one of them at any given time had
6853-462: The same period, uniting for the first time the highest Civil and military offices. The appointment of this military officer as Governor General was due to heightened tensions with the United States over the Oregon boundary dispute . Cathcart was deeply interested in the natural sciences, but ignorant of constitutional practice, and hence an unusual choice for Governor General. He refused to become involved in
6942-468: The second category, which included the subsequent East and West Blocks structures. These proposals were selected for their sophisticated use of Gothic architecture , which was thought to remind people of parliamentary democracy 's old European history, and would contradict the republican neoclassical style of architecture used in Washington, D.C. It was also thought that it would be better suited to
7031-708: The title of Premier , while the other had the title of Deputy . Municipal government in Upper Canada was under the control of appointed magistrates who sat in Courts of Quarter Sessions to administer the law within a District. A few cities, such as Toronto, were incorporated by special acts of the legislature. Governor Thomson , 1st Baron Sydenham, spearheaded the passage of the District Councils Act which transferred municipal government to District Councils. His bill allowed for two elected councillors from each township, but
7120-884: The union of the Canadas they sought, where LaFontaine overcame linguistic prejudice to gain a seat in English Canada, and Baldwin obtained his seat in French Canada. The Baldwin–LaFontaine ministry barely lasted six months before Governor Bagot also died in March 1843. He was replaced by Charles Metcalfe, whose instructions were to check the "radical" reform government. Metcalfe reverted to the Thomson system of strong central autocratic rule. Metcalfe began appointing his own supporters to patronage positions without Baldwin and LaFontaine's approval, as joint premiers. They resigned in November 1843, beginning
7209-525: The venture, leading to the closure of the site in September and the covering of the unfinished structures with tarpaulins until 1863, when construction resumed following a commission of inquiry . The site was still incomplete when three of the British North American colonies—now the provinces Ontario , Quebec , Nova Scotia , and New Brunswick —entered Confederation in 1867, and Ottawa remained
7298-495: The warden, clerk and treasurer were to be appointed by the government. This thus allowed for strong administrative control and continued government patronage appointments. Sydenham's bill reflected his larger concerns to limit popular participation under the tutelage of a strong executive. The Councils were reformed by the Baldwin Act in 1849 which made municipal government truly democratic rather than an extension of central control of
7387-629: Was appointed after the unexpected death of Thomson, with the explicit instructions to resist calls for responsible government. He arrived in the capital, Kingston, to find that Thomson's "middle party" had become polarised and he therefore could not form an executive. Even the Tories informed Bagot he could not form a cabinet without including LaFontaine and the French Party. LaFontaine demanded four cabinet seats, including one for Robert Baldwin. Bagot became severely ill thereafter, and Baldwin and Lafontaine became
7476-473: Was during their ministry that the first organised moves toward Canadian Confederation took place. It was under Monck's governorship that the Great Coalition of all of the political parties of the two Canadas occurred in 1864. The Great Coalition was formed to end the political deadlock between predominantly French-speaking Canada East and predominantly English-speaking Canada West. The deadlock resulted from
7565-404: Was highly unpopular with some English-speaking Loyalists who favoured imperial over majority rule. As Canada East and Canada West each held 42 seats in the Legislative Assembly , there was a legislative deadlock between English (mainly from Canada West) and French (mainly from Canada East). The majority of the province was French, which demanded "rep-by-pop" (representation by population), which
7654-507: Was near bankruptcy because it lacked stable tax revenues, and needed the resources of the more populous Lower Canada to fund its internal transportation improvements. Secondly, unification was an attempt to swamp the French vote by giving each of the former provinces the same number of parliamentary seats, despite the larger population of Lower Canada. Although Durham's report had called for the Union of
7743-499: Was no direct representation in the sovereign government for British subjects or citizens residing in Crown colonies. The administration of Crown colonies changed over time and in the 1800s some became, with a loosening of the power of royal governors, self-governing colonies , within which the sovereign state (the UK Government) delegated legislation for most local internal matters of governance to elected assemblies, with consent of
7832-514: Was replaced by the Department of Public Instruction, which lasted until 1876. The province improved the educational system in Canada West under Egerton Ryerson . French was reinstated as an official language of the legislature and the courts. The Legislature also codified the Civil Code of Lower Canada in 1866, and abolished the seigneurial system in Canada East. In 1849, King's College was renamed
7921-470: Was the site of a military base, into a governmental precinct began in 1859 after Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the capital of the Province of Canada . Following several extensions to the Parliament and departmental buildings, and a fire in 1916 that destroyed the Centre Block , Parliament Hill took on its present form with the completion of the Peace Tower in 1927. In 1976, the Parliament Buildings and
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