The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of elected legislative councilors who created bills to be passed up to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada, whose members were appointed by the governor general.
Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
Chambre d'assemblée du Bas-Canada
| |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | of the Parliament of Lower Canada |
| History | |
| Founded | 1791 (1791) |
| Disbanded | 1838 (1838) |
| Preceded by | Council for Affairs of the Province of Quebec (c. 1774) |
| Succeeded by | Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada (following the temporary Special Council of Lower Canada) |
Following the Lower Canada Rebellion, the lower house was dissolved on March 27, 1838, and Lower Canada was administered by an appointed Special Council. With the Act of Union in 1840, a new lower chamber, the Legislative Assembly of Canada, was created for both Upper and Lower Canada which existed until 1867, when the Legislative Assembly of Quebec was created.
50 members elected in 23 two-seat districts and four single-seat districts.
| Electoral District | # of Members | Status after electoral changes in 1829 |
|---|---|---|
| Bedford | 1 | Renamed as Rouville. |
| Buckingham | 2 | Drummond, Missisquoi, Shefford, Sherbrooke and Stanstead split off from Buckingham during elections in 1829. In 1830 what was left of Buckingham was split into Lotbinière, NicoletetYamaska. |
| Cornwallis | 2 | Divided into Kamouraska and Rimouski. |
| Devon | 2 | Renamed as L'Islet. |
| Dorchester | 2 | Beauce was split from Dorchester. |
| Effingham | 2 | Renamed as Terrebonne. |
| Gaspé | 1 | Bonaventure was separated from Gaspé. |
| Hampshire | 2 | Renamed as Portneuf. |
| Hertford | 2 | Renamed as Bellechasse. |
| Huntingdon | 2 | Divided into Beauharnois, L'Acadie and Laprairie. |
| Kent | 2 | Renamed as Chambly. |
| Leinster | 2 | Divided into Lachenaie and L'Assomption. |
| Comté de Montréal | 2 | No changes |
| Montréal-Est | 2 | No changes |
| Montréal-Ouest | 2 | No changes |
| Northumberland | 2 | Divided into Montmorency and Saguenay. |
| Orléans | 1 | No changes |
| Comté de Québec | 2 | No changes |
| Basse-ville de Québec | 2 | No changes |
| Haute-ville de Québec | 2 | No changes |
| Richelieu | 2 | Saint-Hyacinthe split from Richelieu. |
| Saint-Maurice | 2 | Champlain split from Saint-Maurice. |
| Surrey | 2 | Renamed as Verchères. |
| Trois-Rivières | 2 | No changes |
| Warwick | 2 | Renamed as Berthier. |
| William-Henry | 1 | No changes |
| York | 2 | Divided into Deux-Montagnes, Ottawa and Vaudreuil. |