The Executive Council of Upper Canada had a similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the Legislative Assembly but were usually members of the Legislative Council. Members were appointed, often for life. The first five members were appointed in July 1792. The council was dissolved on 10 February 1841 when Upper Canada and Lower Canada were united into the Province of Canada. It was replaced by the Executive Council of the Province of Canada the same year.
After the War of 1812, the Executive Council was dominated by members of the Family Compact, an elite clique based in York.
List of Members of the Executive Council
edit| Member | Town | Start | Stop | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Baby | Windsor, Ontario | 9 July 1792 | 19 February 1833 | died in office |
| Alexander Grant Sr. | York | 9 July 1792 | May, 1813 | died in office and in the United States |
| William Osgoode | York | 9 July 1792 | July 1794 | to Lower Canada; left British North America for Britain 1801 and died in London; Chief Justice of Upper Canada 1794-1801 |
| William Robertson | 9 July 1792 | 4 November 1792 | resigned; eventually moved to Lower Canada and England; died in London | |
| Peter Russell | York | 9 July 1792 | 30 September 1808 | died in office |
| Æneas Shaw 1 | York | 21 June 1794 | 1807 | retired |
| Jacob Mountain | Quebec City | 10 June 1794 | N/A | never attended; died in Quebec City |
| John Elmsley Sr. | York | 1 January 1796 | July 1802 | Born in Marylebone in 1762, London and was Chief Justice of Upper Canada 1801, moved to Montreal as Chief Justice of Lower Canada 1802; died in Montreal 1805 |
| John McGill | York | 2 March 1796 | 13 August 1818 | became Receiver General of Upper Canada (5 October 1813 to 2 December 1819) |
| David William Smith | Norfolk, Oxford & Middlesex | 2 March 1796 | July 1802 | left Canada for England; died in Alnwick, Northumberland |
| Henry Allcock | York | 14 October 1802 | September 1804 | Chief Justice of Upper Canada 1802–1804; moved to Lower Canada to become Chief Justice and member of the Executive Council of Lower Canada 1805; died in Quebec City |
| Thomas Scott | York | 8 April 1805 | August 1816 | Attorney General 1801–1806; later Chief Justice of Upper Canada; granted a pension and retired |
| William Dummer Powell | York | 8 October 1808 | September 1825 | Chief Justice of Upper Canada; resigned office upon pension |
| Prideaux Selby | York | 8 October 1808 | 9 May 1813 | died in office |
| Isaac Brock | York | 30 September 1812 | 13 October 1812 | died heroically and buried at Queenston Heights near Newark, Upper Canada |
| Roger Hale Sheaffe | York | 20 October 1812 | 4 June 1813 | replaced after being recalled to England; died in Edinburgh |
| Baron Francis de Rottenburg | York | 19 June 1813 | N/A | never attended; left of Lower Canada and England where he died in |
| Gordon Drummond | York | 4 November 1813 | March 1814 | became Governor-General and Administrator of Canada; return to England and died there |
| Samuel Smith | Etobicoke | 30 November 1813 | October 1825 | retired |
| John Strachan 2 | York | 11 May 1815 | 12 March 1836 | Bishop of Anglican Church in Upper Canada; resigned 3 |
| William Claus | Niagara | 12 February 1818 | September 1824 | retired? died of cancer 1826 |
| George Herchmer Markland 4 | York | 22 October 1822 | 12 March 1836 | resigned 3; died in Kingston, Ontario |
| Peter Robinson | York | 24 December 1823 | 12 March 1836 | resigned 3 |
| James Buchanan Macaulay | York | 5 May 1825 | July 1829 | resigned and appointed temporary judge of the Court of Queen's Bench, later as permanent judge |
| William Campbell | York | 26 October 1825 | March 1828 | unable to attend due to poor health and retired 1829; Chief Justice of Upper Canada 1825-1829 |
| John Beverley Robinson | York | 25 April 1829 | 25 January 1831 | resigned; Solicitor General 1815–1818; Attorney General 1818–1829; acting Attorney General 1812–1814 |
| Joseph Wells | York | 13 September 1830 | 12 March 1836 | resigned 3 |
| John Elmsley Jr. (1801-63) | York | 20 September 1830 | 1841 | retired to management of his personal business; died in Toronto 1863 |
| Robert Baldwin | Toronto | 20 February 1836 | 12 March 1836 | resigned 3 |
| John Henry Dunn | Toronto | 20 February 1836 | 12 March 1836 | resigned 3 and returned to England; died in England |
| John Rolph | Toronto | 20 February 1836 | 12 March 1836 | resigned 3; died in Mitchell, Ontario |
| William Allan | Toronto | 14 March 1836 | 10 February 1841 | retired |
| Augustus Warren Baldwin | Toronto | 14 March 1836 | 10 February 1841 | re-appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada |
| John Elmsley Jr. | Toronto | 14 March 1836 | 8 January 1839 | second term; died in Toronto 1863 |
| Robert Baldwin Sullivan | Toronto | 14 March 1836 | 10 February 1841 | not re-appointed; later appointed to the Queen's Bench |
| William Henry Draper | Toronto | 27 December 1836 | 10 February 1841 | elected to the 1st Parliament of the United Canadas 1841; Solicitor General 1837-1839 and Attorney General 1840-1841 |
| Richard Alexander Tucker | Kingston | 8 December 1838 | 10 February 1841 | appointed registrar of the Province of Canada in 1841–1851; retired to England 1851 |
| Isaac Fraser | Ernestown | 16 July 1839 | 10 February 1841 |
Notes:
- Æneas Shaw was an honorary member after 1803.
- The Reverend John Strachan was an honorary member until 25 July 1817.
- On 12 March 1836, all members of the council resigned to protest when the new Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head refused to consult with his council.
- George Markland was an honorary member until 6 July 1827.
References
edit- Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology, Frederick H. Armstrong, Toronto : Dundurn Press, 1985. ISBN 0-919670-92-X