Montreal (Province of Canada electoral district)

Montreal was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of the Province of Canada, in Canada East. It was created in 1841 and included much of the city of Montreal. Its boundaries were specifically drawn by the British Governor General, Lord Sydenham, to include voters of British background, disenfranchising francophone Canadien voters, an example of an ethnic and linguistic gerrymander. Sydenham's purpose was to gain support in the Legislative Assembly for the new Province of Canada, which had merged the formerly separate provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada.

Twelve years later, in a redistribution of the electoral districts, the provincial Parliament re-drew the boundaries of the Montreal constituency, adopting the municipal boundaries of Montreal as the basis for the electoral district.

Montreal electoral district was a multi-member constituency. From 1841 to 1854, it was represented by two members in the Legislative Assembly. In 1854, an additional member was added, for a total of three members. The three-member constituency was abolished in 1861, when it was split into three single-member ridings.

Boundaries
The Union Act, 1840, passed by the British Parliament, merged the two provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada into the Province of Canada, with a single Parliament. The separate parliaments of Lower Canada and Upper Canada were abolished.

The Union Act provided that the pre-existing electoral boundaries of Lower Canada and Upper Canada would continue to be used in the new Parliament, unless altered by the Union Act itself. Montreal was one of the electoral districts specifically defined by the Union Act. Prior to the Union Act, the Island of Montreal was divided into three electoral districts, called Montreal East, Montreal West, and Montreal County. The Act changed this situation by providing that the city of Montreal would be one district, but gave the Governor General the power to set the boundaries for the district. Any parts of the city which were not included in the boundaries set by the Governor General would be included in the adjoining electoral district, namely a revised Montreal County.

The first Governor General, Lord Sydenham, exercised the power to draw boundaries by a proclamation issued shortly after the formation of the Province of Canada in early 1841. His overall goal in drawing the boundaries was to ensure that supporters of the creation of the new Province of Canada would be elected. The boundaries did not follow the normal municipal boundaries, rather being drawn along certain streets and geographic features. This new electoral district was designed to exclude as many francophone Canadien voters as possible, and to include as many voters of British background as possible, since they generally supported the union. It was an example of an ethnic and linguistic gerrymander. The areas of Montreal which were not included in the new electoral district instead were included in Montreal County. The result was the effective disenfranchisement of Montreal francophone voters in the 1841 election.

In 1853, after the establishment of responsible government and local control, the provincial Parliament passed a statute to expand the number of seats in the Assembly and re-draw the boundaries. As part of that redistribution, the new boundaries for the Montreal electoral district were based on the municipal boundaries of the city, instead of the highly specific boundaries used by Sydenham.

Members of the Legislative Assembly (1841–1861)
The Montreal electoral district was a multi-member seat. Under the Union Act, 1840, it was originally entitled to two members in the Legislative Assembly. In the 1853 redistribution, it was given an additional member, allowing it to return three members to the Legislative Assembly.

The following were the members of the Legislative Assembly from Montreal. The party affiliations are based on the biographies of individual members given by the National Assembly of Quebec, as well as votes in the Legislative Assembly. "Party" was a fluid concept, especially during the early years of the Province of Canada.

Abolition
Montreal electoral district was abolished in 1861, when it was replaced by three single-member districts, Montreal Centre, Montreal East, and Montreal West.