Union of Upper and Lower Canada

United Province of Canada
British colony
1841–1867
Flag Coat of arms
Capital		Kingston 1841–44 Montreal 1844–49 Toronto 1849–52 Quebec 1852–56 Toronto 1856–58 Quebec 1859–66 Ottawa 1866–67
Languages		English, French
Government		Constitutional monarchy Responsible government
Queen		Victoria
Governor General		See list of Governors General
Premier and the Executive Council of the Province of Canada		See list of Premiers
Legislature		Legislative Council and Assembly of the Province of Canada
Historical era		Pre-Confederation Era
•	Act of Union	February 10, 1841
•	Democratization	March 11, 1848
•	Canadian Confederation	July 1, 1867
Population
•	1860–61 est.	2,507,657
Currency		Canadian pound 1841–58 Canadian dollar 1858–67 (fixed to US dollar)
Preceded by Succeeded by Upper Canada Lower Canada Canada

The United Province of Canada, or the Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in 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 1837–38.

The Act of Union 1840, passed July 23, 1840, by the British Parliament and proclaimed by the Crown on February 10, 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 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. And 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 the Canadas and for responsible government (a government accountable to an independent local legislature), only the first was implemented. The new government was to be led by an appointed Governor General accountable only to the British Crown and the Queen's Ministers. Responsible government was not to be achieved until the second LaFontaine-Baldwin ministry in 1849.

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