Robert Fleming Gourlay

Robert Fleming Gourlay (March 24, 1778 – August 1, 1863) was a Scottish-Canadian writer, political reform activist, and agriculturalist.

Gourlay was born in Craigrothie in the Parish of Ceres, Fife, Scotland on 22 March 1778.

He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of St. Andrews and studied agriculture at the University of Edinburgh. He managed one of his father's farms from 1800 to 1809 and leased a farm from the Duke of Somerset from 1809 to 1817. Gourlay's sympathies lay with the poor farmer, who he saw as being imprisoned by landlords and the system of government. In 1801, he was employed by the British imperial government to make inquiries into the condition of the British poor. His report prompted a bill to be introduced into the British House of Commons and adopted, but it was rejected by the House of Lords. In 1809, he published a pamphlet proposing a radical reshaping of the system of government in Britain. He submitted a proposal to the House of Commons that land be acquired and redistributed to the poor. Gourlay adopted the middle name Fleming in honour of his mother who died in 1827.

In 1817, his wife inherited some land in the Niagara District of Upper Canada and he travelled there via New York City, expecting to return by the fall. While there, he decided to gather some statistical information on Upper Canada. This list was based on the questions used by Sir John Sinclair in Scotland, the last question being "What, in your opinion, regards the improvement of your township in particular, or the province in general; and what would most contribute to the same?". This last question came to be viewed with great suspicion by the provincial authorities. The list of questions was sent to all townships in the province.

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