5. The Province of Upper Canada

From Canadian History Portal - HCO

D. British North America →→ 1. American Revolution Background → 2. American Revolution Battles → 3. Coming of the Loyalists → 4. Rise of Montreal → 5. Province of Upper Canada → 6. War of 1812 → 7. Northern and Western Exploration →→ E. Conflict and Change

Loyalist Camp at Adolphustown, June 6, 1784

Loyalist Settlement

The creation of Upper Canada was a natural and direct result of the influx of the Loyalists. Their settlement came in distinct waves. First, they began settling in the area between present-day Cornwall and Kingston, located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Then they began moving progressively further west along the north shore of Lake Ontario. Next, they came to the Niagara Peninsula region, along the north shore of the eastern part of Lake Erie, up along the western shore of the Niagara River. Finally, settlement took place along portions of the Grand River, across from Detroit, and at York (present-day Toronto).

The Loyalists laboured from dawn to dusk clearing the land of rocks and trees, and then putting in their first crops. They had nothing more than axes for the heavily treed land. Once felled, the trees had to be cut with either a handsaw or a crosscut saw, both of which involved very heavy work. Some of the wood was set aside for the building of homesteads or furniture construction, or for firewood. However, most of it was simply burned to get it out of the way, with the ashes collected to manufacture soap.

Tree stumps were particularly worrisome. They were difficult to pull out of the ground even with a team of horses or oxen. Typically, farmers left them in the ground to rot for five to ten years. Then they were easier to pull out. Some of the innumerable rocks that were part of the clearing the land process were used as fences or fireplaces.

First Settler's Home

Pioneer Saw Mill

Making Potash for Soap & Fertilizer

Daily Life in Upper Canada

Clothing posed another challenge for the Loyalists. They had one set of clothing, the one they wore with them when they arrived. Clearly, that was quickly worn out. The aboriginal peoples gave them the idea of using deerskin, which was durable, fairly lightweight, and warm in the winter. Most Loyalists families kept sheep from which they obtained flax, then spun to produce their clothing.

Spinning Wool

Squared Logs for House Building

Diet was fairly simple. The main crop that they grew was wheat from which they milled flour that was then baked into bread. They quickly adopted several dietary habits from the aboriginal peoples, including 'the three sisters' of corn, beans, and squash. Livestock was kept both for the necessary protein and dairy products for their diet as well as for performing work. Pigs and chicken were also kept to round out their diet. Typically, berries and nuts were gathered in season and either eaten or preserved.

Their first home, usually hurriedly constructed, was a cabin, or sometimes referred to as a shanty. With no windows, a gentle sloping roof, and a dirt floor, it was simple but easily built. It was tiny, not much more than a typical room of a house today. As soon as they could, quite often by the second year, the settlers built larger and better homes, leaving the shanty for their animals.

The second home included three or four rooms as well as an attic that was usually used for sleeping. This home was usually made of squared logs, notched at the ends so that they would fit tightly together. Invariably there were gaps, which were filled in with moss, clay, or small chunks of wood. The dirt floor was covered with pine planks. Windows and doors were simply cut out of the log walls. Heat was generated from a large central fireplace.

The combination of the rich land and industrious Loyalists produced a much-improved lifestyle. Soon produce was produced in surplus, which in turn led to a flourishing trade along the Great Lakes. But that was only achieved after considerable hardship. In 1788, known as the "hungry year," for instance, there was a severe crop failure, a long and bitter winter, and the cancellation of British aid. That deadly combination meant that the settlers were reduced to eating roots, bark, and leaves to survive. However, survive they did, through determination and hard work. In the process, those who amassed some degree of wealth and who were literate, emerged as the leaders of the new society.

Upper and Lower Canada, 1791

The Constitutional Act

John Graves Simcoe

One of their chief demands was an altered political structure. The Loyalists, accustomed to British ways, no longer wanted to remain living under the terms of what they perceived as the pro-French terms of the Quebec Act. Furthermore, they wanted an elected assembly within their own separate colony. William Grenville, the British Colonial Secretary, came to see that the only viable alternative to constant French-English bickering and conflict was through political division. Thus the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided Quebec along linguistic/cultural lines. One part, Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) was predominantly English and Protestant, while the other section, Lower Canada (present-day Quebec) was mainly French and Catholic. Both colonies were to have parallel oligarchic governmental structures with appointed governors and councils and an elected assembly.

When John Graves Simcoe was offered the position as the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, he did not hesitate. (He was "Lieutenant" because, like Thomas Carleton in New Brunswick, Simcoe was subordinate to Guy Carleton, the overall governor of British North America.) He had a soft spot in his heart for the Loyalists and all things British. He had served in the British forces in Virginia with the Queen's Rangers during the American Revolutionary War and had done much to reform the regiment including changing the colour of their uniforms from red to green. In late September 1792, he and his wife Elizabeth and two youngest children sailed from Britain to take up his new post. He originally settled in Newark (present-day Niagara-on-the-Lake), the capital of the colony at the time. On July 29, 1793, he sailed into Toronto Bay by the western gap and decided that the site would be a good place for a fort and a settlement.

You can read excerpts from Elizabeth Simcoe's Diary, 1791-1796.

Elizabeth Simcoe

During his four-year tenure, Simcoe did much to improve and promote Upper Canada. He hoped to attract a continuous flow of immigrants, drawn by the superiority of British government, law, and customs. He achieved remarkable success in that regard. Perhaps, he thought, by creating a "Little England," he could show the rebellious Americans the error of their ways. He was energetic and enthusiastic in his approach. He traveled widely and listened attentively to the advice of experts. He interacted with everyday people, be they aboriginals, trappers, or farmers. His envisioned far-reaching constitutional, political, and social reform that would ultimately establish the basis of Upper Canada. Although he was in office for only a short time, John Graves Simcoe is deserving of the title of "Father of Upper Canada."

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William Berczy

Simcoe's Legacy

Simcoe clearly recognized that the future prospects of the colony depended on economic growth. To that end, he set about conducting extensive surveys of the land getting it ready for more new arrivals. Importantly, he believed that such economic growth was more likely to occur through a small, elite group of land landowners who could parlay their economic dominance into political influence.

A good example was William Berczy who came to Upper Canada from New York State in 1794 along with 64 families. He wanted to bring Germans dissatisfied with life in the United States. Through his negotiations with Simcoe, Berczy received 26 000 acres of very valuable land that would one day become Markham. Another such individual was Thomas Talbot who first came to the north shore of Lake Erie in 1792 after being granted 2 000 ha of land. In less than fifty years, the Talbot Settlement would comprise 50 000 people living in 29 townships. Simcoe felt that the Upper Canada's future turned on such prominent individuals as Berczy and Talbot and did everything he could to encourage them. Such people could enact favourable laws, which in turn would foster further growth. Furthermore, Simcoe made significant starts at creating the necessary infrastructure of roads and schools that would attract further immigrants as well as serving the needs of the existing population.

Even more critical in attracting immigrants was Simcoe's granting of land to thousands of "late Loyalists." Although the earlier United Empire Loyalists were somewhat dubious about the 'loyalty' of these late arrivals, thinking of them more as land-grabbers, thousands of "late Loyalists" proved essential for the growth of the colony.

Thomas Talbot

Simcoe Builds Fort York

Tracts of about 75 ha were given to settlers in return for their swearing an oath of allegiance to the King and renouncing the Revolution, settle and farm their land, build a homestead, and serve in the local militia.

Simcoe's plans for land development, while largely successful, were limited by his decision to grant large tracts of land to the Protestant clergy and absentee landowners who held the land out of circulation. That would prove to be a serious obstacle to continuous development and road construction in the future.

Another important decision that Simcoe made was in the decision of a new capital. The current capital, Newark, was little more than a frontier outpost. Of even greater concern was its location. Being so close to the American border, it would be exceedingly difficult to defend in the event of an invasion. Initially, his first choice for a new site was on the Thames River in the western part of the colony at London. Reconsideration brought a new choice. York (to become Toronto in forty years) was chosen as a superior location in that it could control Lake Ontario. Although his grandiose plans for Fort York never did quite materialize, it was nevertheless built and the foundation for a major settlement was established. (However, from its earliest beginnings York/Toronto had a long way to go. When the Simcoes left in 1796, there were less than twelve blocks.)

In addition, Simcoe made significant political reforms. In September 1792, the people of Upper Canada elected their first Legislative Assembly. However, in reality it was still very much of an oligarchic government. At the top was an appointed Lieutenant-Governor (in this case Simcoe) who then selected members to sit on two councils, the Executive Council and the Legislative Council to assist him in government.

Simcoe Inspects Guard, First Assembly, 1792

Simcoe Opens First Assembly, 1792

Because the Lieutenant-Government typically wound up being a transitory figure, the two councils who held life time appointments, a veto, and controlled colonial finances exercised the real power. That group, five members from the Executive Council and seven from the Legislative Council, would become known as the "Family Compact". The members of the Legislative Assembly, elected for four-year terms were supposed to represent the voice of the people. The reality was something very different as the Councils consistently blocked the reforms that they tried to institute.

Upper Canada Bush Road

One of the most far-reaching decisions made in that first month-long session of the Legislative Assembly concerned slavery. Simcoe had a deep personal dislike of slavery feeling that it was morally repugnant. Despite the fact many Loyalists had brought slaves with them when they came to Upper Canada, Simcoe acceded to the request of Peter Martin, a spokesperson for the Black community in Upper Canada, to abolish slavery within Upper Canada. That meant that Upper Canada was the first jurisdiction in the British Empire and perhaps in the world to limit slavery.

Simcoe himself, given his moral views, wanted to abolish slavery completely. However, many prominent political and economic officials owed slaves. Thus, the 1793 Slave Act was slightly watered down. It did not free existing slaves. Rather, it banned the future importation of slaves. Individuals who had slaves were allowed to keep them, though some did voluntarily free them. Children of slaves were automatically freed when they reached the age of twenty-five. Slavery legally disappeared from Upper Canada within a generation.

Simcoe's 'checkerboard' plan of townships, as opposed to the long, rectangular strips of New France, proved to be a mistake. The 1791 Constitutional Act had mandated that one-seventh of all the land be set aside as Clergy Reserves for the maintenance of the Protestant (Anglican) church. The British government decided that a further one-seventh was set aside as Crown Reserves. Simcoe's idea was to scatter the Reserves throughout townships rather than concentrating them all together.

This resulted in a number of major problems. One was that with so much land held out of distribution, speculators drove up the price of land. Secondly, with so much fertile land held out of production, the growth of agriculture was limited. Thirdly, the untended Reserve land developed weeds whose seeds blew onto settlers' developed land. Finally, roads had to divert around Reserve land that made for longer, less direct routes to towns and markets.

Roads were a major feature of Simcoe's vision. The strategically and economically important road from Kingston to Montreal was completed in 1796. The beginnings of the world's longest street, Yonge Street, was conceived under Simcoe. It originally went from York north to Lake Simcoe. Dundas Street went west from Burlington Bay to the Thames Valley. As well as these major roads, hundreds of more primitive corduroy roads were built. All of them aided transportation and trade.

Upper Canada developed quickly and progressively. In the mid-1790s it had a population of 15 000. On the eve of the War of 1812, the population had shot up to more than 90 000. Land had been surveyed and settled. Roads and schools had been built. Agricultural production and trade were both on the rise. Towns, such as York, London, and Hamilton, were beginning to develop. A new political structure had been created. Slavery had been abolished. The basis for a dynamic new society had clearly been laid.