The act reformed the government of the
Province of Quebec (1763–1791) to accommodate, amongst other Loyalists, the 10,000
United Empire Loyalists who had arrived from the United States following the
American Revolution. The Province of Quebec, with a population of 145,000 French-speaking
Canadiens, was divided in two when the act took effect on 26 December 1791. The largely unpopulated western half became
Upper Canada (now southern
Ontario) and the eastern half became
Lower Canada (now southern
Quebec). The names Upper and Lower Canada were given according to their relative
elevation along the
St. Lawrence River. Upper Canada received English law and institutions, while Lower Canada retained French civil law and institutions, including
seigneurial land tenure and the privileges accorded to the
Roman Catholic Church. The legislative
Council for the Affairs of the Province of Quebec, with its subset Executive Council cabinet, was continued and reinforced by the establishment of
freeholder-elected legislative assemblies. These elected assemblies led to a form of
representative government in both colonies; the Province of Quebec had not previously had a legislative assembly. The
Constitutional Act attempted to create an
established church by forming the
clergy reserves, that is, grants of land reserved for the support of the (
Protestant)
Church of England. Income from the lease or sale of these reserves, which constituted one-seventh of the territory of Upper and Lower Canada, from 1791 went exclusively to the Church of England and, from 1824 on in a complex ratio, the (
Presbyterian)
Church of Scotland. These reserves created many difficulties in later years, making economic development difficult and creating resentment against the Anglican church, the
Family Compact, and the
Château Clique, although it did eventually lead to the growth of an
Ottawa neighbourhood known as
The Glebe. The act was problematic for both English and French speakers; the
French Canadians and the Roman Catholic church in Quebec felt they might be overshadowed by Loyalist settlements and increased rights for Protestants, while the new English-speaking settlers felt the French still had too much power. However, both groups preferred the act and the institutions it created to the
Quebec Act which it replaced. The act is often seen as a watershed in the development of French Canadian nationalism as it provided for a province (Lower Canada) which the French considered to be their own, separate from English-speaking Upper Canada. The disjuncture between this French-Canadian ideal of Lower Canada as a distinct, national homeland and the reality of continued Anglo-Canadian political and economic dominance of the province after 1791 led to discontent and a desire for reform among intellectual segments of the French and English of Lower Canada. The frustration of French and English Patriots over the nature of Lower Canadian political and economic life in the province fuelled the
Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–38. == Subsequent legislative history and repeal ==