2. Durham Report
• Appointed Governor General of British
North America in 1838
• Deal with the 150 prisoners from the
rebellions. - He realised that no
Canadien jury would ever find them
guilty. He got a confession from nine of
the principals and he exiled them to
Bermuda - he pardoned the remainder.
(He had no authority to do this!)
3. Durham Report
• He made things worse by declaring that
Papineau and his aids were to be
permanent exiles.
• The British government disallowed this
and Durham returned to England after
only 5 months in the colony
4. Durham Report Sources:
On his return to England he wrote an
incisive albeit racist report on the
Canadas identifying the problems.
Recommendations:
• 1. Friction between the legislative
councils and the legislative assemblies
was the cause of the rebellions.
5. Durham Report Sources:
• Racial tensions between French
speaking and English speaking
populations. Famous comment:
6. “I expected to find a contest between a
government and a people: I found two
nations warring in the bosom of a
single state: I found a struggle, not of
principles, but of races; and I perceived
that it would be idle to attempt any
amelioration of laws or institutions until we
could first succeed in terminating the
deadly animosity that now separates the
inhabitants of Lower Canada into the
hostile divisions of French and English”
7. Durham Report Recommendations
• The two Canadas be reunited in a
common assembly based upon the
principle of rep by pop.
• Responsible government based on the
British model.
• Jurisdiction between imperial and local
matters be distinguished.
8. Durham Report Outcomes:
• The report was generally well received in
the Canadas with some obvious voices of
concern raised in Lower Canada. It did
however take quite a number of years
before the changes were implemented.
9. Durham Report Outcomes:
• Change #1 - Union of the two colonies -
1840-41. Name: The United Colonies of
Canada. Upper Canada becomes Canada
West - Lower Canada - Canada East.
• Change #2 - evolution of Responsible
Government.
10. • Sydenham (Charles
Poulett Thomson) -
Unites the Canadas -
emphasises
economic growth.
Union - Equal
representation in a
single assembly - this
gives unbalanced
power to the smaller
(population) Canada
West (400,000) vs
Canada East
(600,000) died 1841.
11. • Bagot - charged with
the duty of avoiding
Responsible govt. But
to get support in the
colonies he had to
invite two reformers
into the Cabinet -
Baldwin and
Lafontaine - he later
brought in more
reformers - Bagot
died in 1843.
12. • Metcalfe - He was
instructed to
recover power to
the governor and
cut back the
reforms of Bagot.
He started to do
this but died of
cancer before
much success.
13. • Lord Elgin:
Appointed by the
reform, free trade
ministry of Prime
Minister Lord John
Russell in Britain - He
is granted authority to
give Responsible
government.
15. Responsible Govt.
• In 1848 the Reformers won a large
majority in the Legislature.
• Elgin asked Baldwin and Lafontaine to
form a government.
• The first test was the Rebellion Losses
Bill of 1849, which compensated people
for their losses during the rebellions.
16. • The Tory opposition
was against the bill
and Elgin himself
opposed it but he
signed it nonetheless.
This was the first test
of Responsible
government.
• Tory riots broke out in
Montreal and
Parliament was
burned
