The Canada Company's arms
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| Company type | Chartered company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Land development |
| Founded | 1826 (byroyal charter) |
| Founder | John Galt |
| Defunct | 1953 |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Headquarters | No. 13, St. Helen's Place, Bishopsgate Street, London, England |
Number of locations | Huron Tract, Queen's Bush, Clergy Reserves |
Area served | Upper Canada |
Key people | John Galt, William Dunlop, Thomas Mercer Jones, William Allan, Daniel Lizars |
| Services | Land, roads, mills |
| Total equity | 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km2) of land |
The Canada Company was a private British land development company that was established to aid in the colonization of a large part of Upper Canada. It was incorporated by royal charter on August 19, 1826,[1] under the Canada Company Act 1825 (6 Geo. 4. c. 75) of the British parliament,[2] which was given royal assent on June 27, 1825.[3] It was originally formed to acquire and develop Upper Canada's undeveloped clergy reserves and Crown reserves,[2] which the company bought in 1827 for £341,000 ($693,000) from the Province of Upper Canada.[4]
Founded by John Galt, who became its first Superintendent, the company was successful in populating an area called the Huron Tract – an achievement later called "the most important single attempt at settlement in Canadian history".[5]
It is unrelated to the modern-day Canadian charity of the same name, founded in 2006, which assists former Canadian military members and their spouses regain civilian employment after service in the Canadian Armed Forces.[6]
| Amount | Area | Lands |
|---|---|---|
| £195,850 ($398,000) | 1,384,413 acres (5,603 km2) | Crown reserves |
| £145,150 ($295,000) | 1,100,000 acres (4,452 km2) | Recently acquired by the government, from the Chippewa First Nation, in what would become the Huron Tract, located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, in substitution for the originally contemplated 829,430 acres (3,357 km2) of clergy reserve lands.[7] One-third of the purchase price went to fund public works and improvements, while the remaining two-thirds was paid to the Crown.[8] |
The Canada Company assisted emigrants by providing good ships, low fares, implements and tools, and inexpensive land. Scottish novelist John Galt was the company's first Canadian superintendent. He first settled in York (Toronto, Ontario) but selected Guelph as the company's headquarters, and his home. The area was previously part of the Halton Block, 42,000 acres of former Crown land.[9] Galt would later be considered as the founder of Guelph.[10]
The company surveyed and subdivided the massive Huron Tract, built roads, mills, and schools and advertised lots for sale to buyers in Europe. The town of Goderich was laid out on the shores of Lake Huron to be the centre of the settlement of the Huron Tract. The company then assisted in the migration of new settlers, bringing them to the area by means of a steamboat, which the company also owned, on Lake Ontario.[11]
John Galt was dismissed and recalled to Great Britain in 1829, for mismanagement, particularly incompetent bookkeeping.[12] General mismanagement and corruption within the company, and its close alliance with the Tory elites, known as the Family Compact, were important contributing factors to the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837.[13]
In 1833, his colleague William "Tiger" Dunlop took over as Superintendent of the Company and continued Galt's work for a short time before resigning.[14]
Appointed Secretary of the Canada Company in 1824 John Galt helped to obtain a charter for the company on 19 August 1826.[12] On that date, the formal structure of the Canada Company was put into place by the company's Court of Directors. John Galt, as secretary, had the first order of business. Tabling an abstract of the charter, Galt declared the name to be "The Canada Company" with directors and secretary as served on the Provisional Committee and listed in the charter.[15]
At the first meeting of the board, it was declared that four directors would rotate off the Company beginning in 1829.
| Position | Persons concerned |
|---|---|
| Directors |
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| Chairman |
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| Secretary | |
| Auditors |
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| Solicitors | |
| Bankers |
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| Person | Role | |
|---|---|---|
|
John Galt | Founder (1824–26), secretary (1824–1832), and first superintendent (1827–1829).[12] |
| William Allan | Commissioner of the Canada Company (1829–1841).[17] | |
| Frederick Widder | Commissioner of the Canada Company (1839–1864).[18] | |
| Thomas Mercer Jones | Commissioner of the Canada Company (1829–1852).[19] | |
|
William Benjamin Robinson | Commissioner of the Canada Company (1852–1865), Senior Commissioner after 1865.[20] |
| Dr. William "Tiger" Dunlop | Warden of the Forests, later becoming Superintendent of the Canada Company. | |
| Person | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Alexander Tucker | Provincial Secretary of Upper Canada, having considerable influence over decisions made concerning the Company in its early years. | |
|
Sir Peregrine Maitland | Lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. He became associated with the Family Compact. His authoritarian leadership style was one of the causes of the Rebellion of 1837. |
|
Bishop Macdonnell | Roman Catholic Bishop attacked by William Lyon Mackenzie.
Alexander Macdonell was a Roman Catholic Scotsman who accepted the government promise of 200 acres (0.81 km2) in Upper Canada to every soldier who emigrated. He had been the chaplain of a Catholic Scottish Glengarry regiment. Macdonell was a conservative legislative councillor from 1831 leading the mainly Irish settlers against the Reform movement and Mackenzie. |
|
Bishop Strachan | Protagonist in the Clergy Reserves issue.
An executive councillor in 1817 and legislative councillor in 1820 in the government of Upper Canada, Bishop Strachan sought special status for the Anglican church. |
The company retained the mineral rights of the land it sold. In 1919, it quitclaimed and transferred those rights to the Crown. In 1922[21] and 1923,[22] the Legislative Assembly of Ontario authorized the granting of those rights to landholders at a set price.
In 1928, a plaque was erected in Huron county, Pioneers of the Huron Tract 1828-1928, commemorating the work of the men who developed the Huron Tract and the families who lived there, starting in 1828.[23]
By 1938, the Canada Company held just over 20,000 acres (81 km2) of unsold land, while the company shares were valued at 10 shillings. It had become a land company in the process of liquidation.[15] By 1950, only 4,207 acres (17.03 km2) remained in its possession, distributed amongst Lambton County, the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and Lanark County.[24]
In 1951, the remaining land was disposed of, and land that was unsold became Pinery Provincial Park.[24]
The company voted to wind up its affairs on August 12, 1953,[25] and was dissolved on December 18, 1953.[24]
Plaque #4
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