The Constitutional Act of 1791 was a British law which changed the government of the province of Quebec to accommodate the many English-speaking settlers, known as the United Empire Loyalists, who had arrived from the United States following the American Revolution. Quebec was divided in two. The western half became Upper Canada (now southern Ontario) and the eastern half Lower Canada (now southern Quebec). Upper Canada received English law and institutions, while Lower Canada retained French law and institutions, including seigneurial land tenure, and the privileges accorded to the Roman Catholic church. Representative governments were established in both colonies with the creation of a legislative assembly; Quebec had not previously had representative government. Along with each assembly there was also an appointed upper house, the Legislative Council, created for wealthy landowners; within the Legislative Council was the Executive Council, acting as a cabinet for the governor. Beginning in 1963, a terrorist group that became known as the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) launched a decade of bombings, robberies and attacks on government offices and at least two murders by FLQ gunfire and three violent deaths by bombings. ... United Empire Loyalists is the name given to the portion of British Loyalists who resettled in the future Canada when they were forced to leave the United States after the British defeat in the American War of Independence. ... Before the Revolution: The 13 colonies are in red, the pink area was claimed by Great Britain after the French and Indian War, and the orange region was claimed by Spain. ... Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario Upper Canada is an early name for the land at the upstream end of the Saint Lawrence River in early North America – the territory south of Lake Nipissing and north of the St. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal it began, loyal it remains) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Area 1,076,395 km² (4th)  - Land 917,741 km²  - Water 158,654 km² (14. ... Lower Canada was a British colony in North America, at the downstream end of the Saint Lawrence River in the southern portion of the modern-day province of Quebec. ... The seigneurial system was the semi-feudal system of noble privilege in France and its colonies. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Representative democracy comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein voters choose (in free, secret, multi-party elections) representatives to act in their interests, but not as their proxies—i. ...

The Constitutional Act also tried to create an established church by creating clergy reserves. grants of land reserved for the support of the Protestant clergy. In practice income from the rent or sale of these reserves, which constituted one-seventh of the territory of Upper and Lower Canada, went exclusively to the Church of England and, from 1824 on, the 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 Chateau Clique. In English history, the Established Church is the Church of England, the church which is established by the Government, supported by it, and of which the monarch is the titular head; until 1920 it also held the same position in Wales. ... Clergy reserves were tracts of land in Upper Canada and Lower Canada reserved for the support of Protestant clergy by the Constitutional Act of 1791 which established the two provinces. ... Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing a split from the Roman Catholic Church during the mid to late Renaissance in Europe —a period known as the Protestant Reformation. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... The Church of Scotland (CofS sometimes known as the Kirk) is the national church of Scotland. ... The Family Compact was the informal name for the wealthy, conservative elite of Upper Canada in the early 19th century. ... The Ch teau Clique was a group of wealthy families in Lower Canada in the early 19th century. ...

The act was problematic for both English speakers and French speakers; the French Canadians felt they might be overshadowed by English settlement and increased rights for Protestants, while the new English-speaking settlers felt the French Canadians still had too much power. However, both groups preferred the act and the institutions it created to the Quebec Act which it replaced. Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Quebec Act of 1774 was an act by the British Parliament setting out procedures of governance in the area of Quebec. ...

See also

• Constitutional history of Canada
• 1840 Union Act

The Constitutional history of Canada begins with the 1763 Treaty of Paris, in which France ceded most of New France to Great Britain. ... The Act of Union passed in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10, 1841, abolished the legislatures of Lower Canada and Upper Canada and established a new political entity the Province of Canada to replace them. ...

External links

• Constitutional Act of the Province of Lower Canada