Upper Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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  • Article

    A Dish with One Spoon

    The term a dish with one spoon refers to a concept developed by the Indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America. It was used to describe how land can be shared to the mutual benefit of all its inhabitants. According to the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), the concept originated many hundreds of years ago and contributed greatly to the creation of the “Great League of Peace” — the Iroquois Confederacy made up of the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, and Mohawk nations. The Anishinaabeg (the Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, Mississauga, Saulteaux and Algonquin nations) refer to “a dish with one spoon” or “our dish” as “Gdoo – naaganinaa.”

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/122dc04b-d0a1-4551-a912-1bee8991746b.jpg A Dish with One Spoon

  • Article

    Act of Union (Plain-Language Summary)

    The Act of Union was passed by the British Parliament in July 1840. It became law on 10 February 1841. It merged Canada West (formerly Upper Canada) and Canada East (formerly Lower Canada) into the Province of Canada (1841–67). The Act was based on the findings of the Durham Report. It was presented by Lord Durham in 1839. The Act sought to assimilate French Canadians, limit the power of the Family Compact and promote economic growth. This article is a plain-language summary of the Act of Union. If you would like to read about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry: Act of Union.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/1bddc49a-9bfc-45cf-9e3e-1a42362ed5d4.jpg Act of Union (Plain-Language Summary)

  • Article

    Caroline Affair

    After the failed Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada, its leader, William Lyon Mackenzie, retreated to Navy Island, in the Niagara River, accompanied by some 200 followers. The Caroline, an American ship based at Fort Schlosser in New York State, was chartered to bring supplies to the rebels. On 29 December 1837, a force of the Upper Canada militia led by Commander Andrew Drew of the Royal Navy found the Caroline moored at Schlosser. In the quick skirmish that followed, an American was killed. The Caroline, set on fire and adrift, capsized before reaching the falls and sank. The incident aggravated the already tense relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/767da593-a14c-4880-a6f6-5029fd760b84.jpg Caroline Affair

  • Article

    Castle Frank

    Castle Frank was a concession of land in the colonial town of York, purchased by John Graves Simcoe in the name of his son, Francis, in 1793. A log house later built on the site also bore the same name. Today the name Castle Frank is preserved as a street, a brook and a station on Toronto’s transit line.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/88f04fde-a25a-4d14-b736-8d545ff0636c.jpg Castle Frank

  • Article

    Clergy Reserves

     Clergy Reserves, one-seventh of the public lands of Upper and Lower Canada, reserved by the 1791 Constitutional Act for the maintenance of a "Protestant clergy," a phrase intended to apply to the Church of England alone.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/693e886b-aefa-4d54-b3e0-c1695d334bb0.jpg Clergy Reserves

  • Article

    Crawford Purchase

    The Crawford Purchase of 1783 is one of the oldest land agreements between British authorities and Indigenous peoples in Upper Canada (later Ontario). It resulted in a large tract of territory along the north shore of the upper St. Lawrence River and the eastern end of Lake Ontario being opened for settlement by displaced Loyalists and Indigenous peoples who fought for and supported Britain during the American Revolution. The Crawford Purchase is one of many agreements made during the late 18th and 19th centuries, known collectively as the Upper Canada Land Surrenders. (See also Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/UCLS/345446e9-d0d1-4626-9702-e214ca87a8a7.jpg Crawford Purchase

  • Article

    Crown Grant to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte

    The Crown Grant to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, also known as Treaty 3½ or the Simcoe Deed, was issued in 1793. (See also Haudenosaunee and Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.) Ten years earlier, the Crawford Purchase had acquired a large piece of territory. The British granted a small portion of this purchase to the Mohawks in recognition of their support to the Crown during the American Revolution. Gradually, the Crown grant was reduced due to encroachment by non-Indigenous settlers. The ownership of the land is still being contested. (See also Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada and Upper Canada Land Surrenders.)

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/Tyendinaga/LandingOfTheMohawks.jpg Crown Grant to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte

  • Article

    Durham Report (Plain-Language Summary)

    In late 1837, violent rebellions took place in Upper and Lower Canada. (See Rebellions of 1837–38 [Plain-Language Summary].) In May 1838, Lord Durham was sent from Britain to find out what had caused the unrest. His Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839) led to a series of reforms. These included merging the two Canadas into the Province of Canada. This was done through the Act of Union in 1841. The report also paved the way for responsible government. This was a vital step in Canada’s path toward democracy and independence from Britain. This article is a plain-language summary of the Durham Report. If you would like to read about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry: Durham Report.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/65ee2cc4-fcf5-4663-b8d2-f9ce30422a92.jpg Durham Report (Plain-Language Summary)

  • Article

    Family Compact

    The term Family Compact is an epithet, or insulting nickname; it is used to describe the network of men who dominated the legislative, bureaucratic, business, religious and judicial centres of power in Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) from the early- to mid-1800s. Members of the Family Compact held largely conservative and loyalist views. They were against democratic reform and responsible government. By the mid-19th century, immigration, the union of Upper and Lower Canada, and the work of various democratic reformers had diminished the group’s power. The equivalent to the Family Compact in Lower Canada was the Château Clique.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/693e886b-aefa-4d54-b3e0-c1695d334bb0.jpg Family Compact

  • Article

    John Collins' Purchase

    John Collins’ Purchase of 1785 is one of the oldest land agreements between Indigenous peoples and British authorities in Upper Canada (later Ontario). It concerned the use of lands extending from the northwestern end of Lake Simcoe to Matchedash Bay, an inlet off Georgian Bay in Lake Huron. The purpose was to provide the British with a protected inland water route between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron, away from potential American interference. This passage was necessary for trade and the resupply of British western outposts. John Collins’ Purchase is one of many agreements made during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, known as the Upper Canada Land Surrenders.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/UCLS/345446e9-d0d1-4626-9702-e214ca87a8a7.jpg John Collins' Purchase

  • Article

    Johnson-Butler Purchase

    The Johnson-Butler Purchase of 1787–88 (also known as the “Gunshot Treaty,” referring to the distance a person could hear a gunshot from the lake’s edge) is one of the earliest land agreements between representatives of the Crown and the Indigenous peoples of Upper Canada (later Ontario). It resulted in a large tract of territory along the central north shore of Lake Ontario being opened for settlement. These lands became part of the Williams Treaties of 1923. (See also Upper Canada Land Surrenders and Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/UCLS/345446e9-d0d1-4626-9702-e214ca87a8a7.jpg Johnson-Butler Purchase

  • Article

    London Township Treaty (No. 6)

    The London Township Treaty of 1796 (also known as Treaty 6 in the Upper Canada treaties numbering system) was an early land agreement between First Nations and British authorities in Upper Canada (later Ontario). It was one of a series of Upper Canada Land Surrenders. The London Township Treaty encompassed a tract of land 12 miles square (about 31 kilometres square) in the southwestern part of the colony. The British originally purchased it as the location to establish the capital of the colony, but York (modern Toronto) became the capital instead. (See also Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/DundasLondonON.jpg London Township Treaty (No. 6)

  • Article

    Manitoulin Island Treaty 1836

    On 9 August 1836, the Odawa and Ojibwe signed the Manitoulin Island Treaty. This treaty is also referred to as Treaty 45 or the Bond Head Treaty. In signing the document, both the Odawa and Ojibwe agreed to Sir Francis Bond Head’s requested proposal that they would “relinquish [their] respective Claims to these Islands, and make them the Property (under your Great Father's control) of all Indians whom he shall allow to reside on them?” The Manitoulin Island Treaty formed part of Head’s efforts to open more lands for settlement. Part of this included relocating First Nations people in Upper Canada to Manitoulin Island (see also First Nations in Ontario). It also served to remove and isolate First Nations people. Head argued this was meant to allow for their “civilization” or “extinction” away from the negative influences of settlers. 

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    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Manitoulin Island Treaty 1836

  • Article

    McKee's Purchase

    McKee’s Purchase of 1790 (also known as the McKee Treaty and Treaty 2) was an early land agreement between Indigenous peoples and British authorities in Upper Canada (later Ontario). It is the southernmost Upper Canada treaty and consisted of a large strip of territory from the southwestern shore of Lake Erie north to the Thames River and east to a point southwest of modern-day London, Ontario. This land was made available for settlement by Loyalists who were displaced by the American Revolution.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/McKeesPurchaseMonument.jpg McKee's Purchase

  • Article

    Niagara Purchase

    The Niagara Purchase of 1781, also known as Treaty 381, was one of the first land agreements between Indigenous peoples and British authorities in Upper Canada (later Ontario). It resulted in a six-and-a-half kilometre-wide strip along the west bank of the Niagara River, which connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, being made available for settlement by Loyalists who were displaced by the American Revolution. The Niagara Purchase was one of many agreements made in the 1700s and 1800s, which are collectively known as the Upper Canada Land Surrenders.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/NiagaraLate1700s.jpg Niagara Purchase