Toronto (Province of Canada electoral district)
Province of Canada electoral district
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Toronto as an electoral division was represented in various legislatures that existed in the nineteenth century and twentieth century. It was first created 1834 as an electoral division of the House of Assembly in the 12th Parliament of Upper Canada. Upon the establishment of the Province of Canada in 1841 by the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada, it continued as a constituency in the Legislative Assembly from the 1st Parliament until the dissolution of the 6th Parliament of the Province of Canada in 1861.
 Upper Canada electoral district | |
|---|---|
| Defunct pre-Confederation electoral district | |
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada |
| District created | 1834 |
| District abolished | 1841 |
| First contested | 1834 |
| Last contested | 1836 |
| Province of Canada electoral district | |
|---|---|
| Defunct pre-Confederation electoral district | |
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada |
| District created | 1841 |
| District abolished | 1861 |
| First contested | 1841 |
| Last contested | 1857 |
 Ontario electoral district | |
|---|---|
| Defunct provincial electoral district | |
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly of Ontario |
| District created | 1886 |
| District abolished | 1894 |
| First contested | 1886 |
| Last contested | 1890 |
In 1861, it was divided into two separate electoral districts, West Toronto and East Toronto, along Yonge Street. Those two electoral districts continued to function in the first Canadian federal election and the first Ontario provincial election, held concurrently in 1867.
After confederation, Toronto re-emerged briefly as an Ontario provincial electoral district in the 6th and 7th Parliament of Ontario between 1886 and 1894, returning three members.
Boundaries
Following the City of Toronto's incorporation in 1834, the electoral district of Toronto was established and succeeded the electoral district of the Town of York. Its boundaries follows the municipal boundaries of Old Toronto, as they existed at the time.
The Union Act, 1840 had merged the two provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada, with a single Parliament. The separate parliaments of Lower Canada and Upper Canada were abolished.[1] The Union Act provided that the city of Toronto would constitute one electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of the new Parliament, and increase its representation to two members.[2] The Act gave the Governor General of the Province of Canada the power to draw the boundaries for the electoral district.[3] The first Governor General, Lord Sydenham, issued a proclamation shortly after the formation of the Province of Canada in early 1841, establishing the boundaries for the electoral district. The boundaries were based largely on the municipal boundaries of Toronto as it existed in 1841.[4]
Members of the Legislative Assembly
Toronto was represented by two members in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada.[2] The following were the members for Toronto.
| Parliament | Years | Members[5] | Party[6] | Members[5] | Party[6] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada | |||||||
| 12th | 1835-1836 | James Edward Small | Reformer | ||||
| 13th | 1836-1840 | William Henry Draper | Tory | ||||
| Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada | |||||||
| 1st | 1841–1843 | John Henry Dunn | Reformer | Isaac Buchanan[a] | Reformer | ||
| 1843–1844 | Henry Sherwood[b] | Conservative | |||||
| 2nd | 1844-1847 | William Henry Boulton | Conservative | ||||
| 3rd | 1848-1851 | ||||||
| 4th | 1852-1853 | George Percival Ridout | |||||
| 1853-1854 | Henry Sherwood | ||||||
| 5th | 1854-1857 | John Hillyard Cameron | John George Bowes | ||||
| 6th | 1858-1861 | John Beverley Robinson | George Brown | Reformer | |||
| Electoral division divided along Yonge Street | |||||||
| Toronto West | Toronto East | ||||||
| 7th | 1861-1863 | John Beverley Robinson | Conservative | John Willoughby Crawford | Conservative | ||
| 8th | 1863-1866 | John Macdonald | Reformer | Alexander Mortimer Smith | Reformer | ||