PROVINCE OF CANADA 1841- In the early 19th century, Canada's political system needed reform. The British Colonies of Upper and Lower Canada were dominated by powerful elites supported by the British governor and paid little attention to the elected assemblies in the colonies.

In 1837, rebellions broke out in Upper and Lower Canada. In Upper Canada the rebellion was quickly defeated, but in Lower Canada it was drawn out and bloody. The British government sent Lord Durham to investigate the colonial grievances.

Durham's report recommended greater power for the colonial assemblies - exactly what the Lower Canadian rebels had demanded. He also recommended that Upper and Lower Canada be united - a proposal that many Lower Canadians opposed.

By the end of the 1840s, Baldwin and LaFontaine convinced the British government that legislative power should be given to the elected assembly of the colony. - an historic example of French & English Canada working together.