User:Mr Serjeant Buzfuz/Canadian seat-of-government dispute

The Canadian seat of government dispute was a long-running political issue in the Province of Canada, from 1841 to 1866. During that time, the seat of government moved six times, to five different cities: Kingston, Montreal, Toronto (twice), Quebec (twice), and finally Ottawa. Significant political debates occurred each time the seat of government moved, as the issue triggered strong regional rivalries.

Numerous votes in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1841 onward failed to establish a fixed seat of government. In 1857, the government of John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier, possibly following a suggestion from Governor General Sir Edmund Walker Head, proposed that the matter be referred to Queen Victoria to decide. The Legislative Assembly passed a resolution calling on the Queen to make the decision. Late in 1857, Victoria decided in favour of Ottawa.

Even with the Queen's decision, the proposal for Ottawa did not gain immediate support. In 1858, the Macdonald-Cartier ministry resigned after losing a confidence vote on the proposed move to Ottawa. They were able to return to office after a few days, in the Double Shuffle, but the issue remained divisive. In 1859, there was another motion in the Assembly to establish Ottawa as the seat of government. That motion passed after a lengthy debate, on the condition that the Parliament would move again to Quebec during the construction of parliament buildings in Ottawa. The issue was raised again in 1860, when Ottawa was finally confirmed as the seat of government by a strong majority in the Assembly.

In 1860, construction began in Ottawa. Significant cost overruns temporarily halted construction, but by 1865 the new Parliament Buildings were complete. In 1866, the Province of Canada Parliament met in the new buildings for its final session. On July 1, 1867, the British North America Act, 1867 (now the Constitution Act, 1867), came into force, the final step of Canadian Confederation. Ottawa became the seat of government of the new federal government of Canada, and the first Parliament of Canada met in the new Parliament Buildings in November 1867.

Creation of the Province of Canada


Following the Rebellions of 1837–1838 in Lower Canada and Upper Canada, the British government decided to unify the two Canadas into a single province, based on the recommendation of Lord Durham in the Durham Report. The British Parliament passed the Union Act, 1840, which created the Province of Canada. The two Canadas became administrative regions in the new province: Lower Canada became Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada became Canada West (now Ontario). The act created a single parliament for the new province.

The Union Act did not determine the location of the seat of government for the new Parliament. Instead, the act gave the Governor General the power to determine where Parliament would meet. Prior to unification, Toronto had been the seat of government for Upper Canada, and Quebec for Lower Canada.

Kingston (1841–1843)


The first Governor General of the new province was Charles Poulett Thomson, later Lord Sydenham. Appointed prior to the Union Act coming into force, his first task was to win support for the union in the two provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. In that process, he advised the members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada that there was a strong likelihood that the seat of government of the new province would be in Canada West. When the Union Act came into force, he fulfilled that commitment by summoning the new Parliament to Kingston, a city of about 6,000 inhabitants in Canada West, but close to the boundary with Canada East. Since there was no major public building in Kingston, the Parliament met in the Kingston Hospital.

The choice did not prove popular with most of the members of the Parliament. Discussion about moving the seat of government began in the very first session in 1841, and continued into the sessions of 1842 and 1843. In March, 1843, a committee of the provincial Executive Council prepared a report, with one dissenting opinion, calling on the British government to move the seat of government to Montreal in Canada East.

In October, 1843, Governor General Sir Charles Metcalfe advised the Legislative Assembly (the lower house of the Parliament) that the British government was not prepared to direct any change to the seat of government without having the concurrence of the Legislative Assembly, and a commitment from the Assembly to pay the costs of transferring the seat of government. He also advised that the British government considered that either Kingston or Montreal could serve as seat of government, but that both Toronto and Quebec were too far from the centre of the province to be the seat of government.

The leaders of the Executive Council, Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine, then introduced a motion in the Assembly proposing that the seat of government move to Montreal. A lengthy debate arose. Alternative proposals were made, such as remaining in Kingston, moving to some other location in Canada West, or deferring the decision entirely to the British government. On November 3, 1843, by a vote of 54–22, the Legislative Assembly passed the resolution to move to Montreal, and committed the necessary funds for the move.

On May 10, 1844, Governor General Metcalfe summoned the second Parliament to meet in Montreal, relying on his power under the Union Act.

Montreal (1844–1849)


Parliament met in Montreal from 1844 to 1849. Montreal had the attraction of being the largest city in the Province of Canada, with a population of approximately 40,000. It was also the commercial centre of the province, with Canada's earliest chartered bank, the Bank of Montreal. Parliament met in the former St. Anne's Market building. Montreal was the seat of government for the entire term of the second Parliament, 1844 to 1847. It was also the location of the first and second sessions of the third Parliament, elected in 1848.

Political tensions rose after the 1848 election, which returned a Reform majority, headed by LaFontaine and Baldwin. In the 1849 legislative session, the LaFontaine–Baldwin ministry introduced the Rebellion Losses Bill. The purpose of the bill was to compensate residents of Canada East who had suffered property losses during the Rebellions of 1837 and 1838. A similar bill had already been passed to compensate individuals in Upper Canada for their losses in the rebellion.

The Rebellion Losses Bill was highly controversial. The Tory opposition attacked the bill and the government, arguing that the bill would compensate those who had taken up arms against the Crown. They called on the Governor General, Lord Elgin, to deny royal assent to the bill. When Lord Elgin instead gave royal assent, on the advice of the LaFontaine–Baldwin ministry, the Tories rioted. On the night of April 25, 1849, while the Legislative Assembly was in session, the rioters set fire to the Parliament Building, which burnt to the ground. There was no loss of life, but the Library of Parliament, containing many historical records and texts, was destroyed.

Itinerant Parliament: Toronto and Quebec (1850–1866)
Following the burning of the Parliament building, the members of Parliament reconvened briefly at Bonsecours Market in Montreal. Henry Sherwood, one of the members for Toronto, introduced a resolution calling on the Governor to summon the Parliament alternately at Toronto and Quebec. He suggested that the time in one city would not be more than four years, and then Parliament would move to the other city.

In the debate on the resolution, other cities were proposed. Henry Sherwood's brother, George Sherwood, member for Brockville, proposed that one central city be chosen as the permanent seat of government, but without specifying the city. John A. Macdonald, member for Kingston, proposed that the seat of government return to Kingston on a permanent basis. George Lyon, member for Russell in the Ottawa area, proposed that Ottawa (then still called Bytown) be the seat of government.

These alternatives were rejected and on May 19, 1849, the Assembly adopted Henry Sherwood's resolution, by a vote of 34 to 29. The members of the government were divided on the issue, including the two joint premiers. Baldwin, the member for York North near Toronto, voted in favour of the resolution, while LaFontaine, one of the members for Montreal, voted against it. Other Cabinet members similarly voted based on their regional interests. Parliament was then prorogued on May 30, 1849.  In November, 1849, the Governor General announced that Parliament would next meet in Toronto.  The third and fourth sessions of the third Parliament were held in Toronto in 1850 and 1851.

Following the 1851 session, the Governor General summoned Parliament to meet at Quebec, as proposed in Sherwood's resolution. The fourth Parliament, elected in December 1851, met in Quebec from 1852 to 1854. Following the general elections of 1854, the first session of the fifth Parliament also met in Quebec in 1854 and 1855. In October 1855, the Governor General issued a proclamation summoning Parliament back to Toronto. After the 1859 session, the Governor General issued a proclamation returning the Parliament to Quebec.

Decision referred to Queen Victoria, 1857
In 1857, the issue came up again in the Legislative Assembly. John A. Macdonald, now the leader of the Liberal-Conservatives from Canada West, and George-Étienne Cartier, the leader of the conservative Bleus from Canada East, were convinced that the issue of the seat of government had to be removed from Canadian politics to keep the Province of Canada together, so strong were the regional loyalties. Their own Cabinet was divided on the issue, as Macdonald admitted in the Legislative Assembly.

Several votes were held during the 1857 spring session of the Canadian Parliament. Each of the previous cities were proposed in turn, but none carried a majority. Ottawa was proposed as a possible compromise, but the members continued to vote for their regional cities. There was even a proposal to determine the choice of seat of government by drawing lots.

The government eventually settled on a means to resolve the impasse, by referring the matter to Queen Victoria. The suggestion may have come from Governor General Sir Edmund Head, or it may have been Macdonald's idea: the Legislative Assembly could petition the Queen to determine the location of the seat of government. Whatever the source of the idea, Macdonald and Cartier introduced three resolutions in the Assembly:
 * that the "interests of Canada" required that the seat of government be located at a fixed place, which passed the Assembly unanimously;
 * that Parliament should commit not more than £225,000 for the construction of parliament buildings at that fixed place, which passed with a majority of sixteen; and
 * that the Queen be asked to determine the location of the seat of government, which passed with a majority of eleven.

The resolutions were then combined into an Address to the Queen, which also passed the Legislative Assembly with a majority of eleven, on a vote of 61 to 50. The Globe newspaper in Toronto, published by one of the leading Reform party members, George Brown, condemned the decision, saying that it amounted to a vote "to destroy responsible government by sending to Downing Street for Mr Labouchere [the Colonial Secretary] to fix the seat of government." For a short time, however, the resolutions removed the seat of government issue from Canadian politics.

The Governor General's memorandum to the Colonial Secretary
Governor General Head personally favoured Ottawa as a compromise candidate. Following the passage of the resolutions, he canvassed the mayors of each of the different cities, sending a circular to all five of them to discuss the issue in each one and to seek their opinions. Following those consultations, he wrote a confidential memorandum to the Colonial Secretary, Henry Labouchere, urging that Ottawa be chosen.

In his memorandum, Head explained that there was a great deal of regional jealousy between Canada West and Canada East, so choosing any of the four cities which had already served as seat of government would likely be unpopular. Ottawa, however, was located in Canada West, but on the Ottawa River, which was the boundary with Canada East. Its location in Canada West would make it an acceptable second choice for Toronto, while it had considerable economic ties to Montreal, making it an acceptable second choice for that city.

Head also noted that Quebec was at one end of the Province of Canada, while Toronto was close to the other end. Choosing either one would require much travel by the members of the Parliament, while Ottawa's central position would be advantageous. Head also cited defence concerns, with Toronto, Kingston and Montreal all vulnerable to attack from the United States. Ottawa's interior location, with good water communications with both Montreal and Kingston, made it a more defensible location.

The Queen chooses Ottawa, 1857
Head then went to London to explain his recommendation to the British government. The Colonial Secretary agreed with Head's position and recommended Ottawa to Queen Victoria. The Prince Consort, Prince Albert, also favoured Ottawa. Late in 1857, the Queen decided in favour of Ottawa. Labouchere formally advised Head of that decision by a dispatch dated December 31, 1857. Governor General Head announced it publicly in February, 1858.

Fall of the Canadian government, 1858


That was not the end of the matter. The issue remained volatile, to the point that the Macdonald–Cartier government fell in the parliamentary session of 1858 over the choice of the seat of government. Opposition to the choice of Ottawa came from the Reformers of Canada West, led by Brown, and from members of the Parti Rouge from Canada East. There was also opposition from some of the Bleus, who normally supported the government.

When the Macdonald–Cartier government introduced a motion to approve the construction of new parliament buildings in Ottawa, the main leader of the Rouges, Antoine-Aimé Dorion, introduced a motion that the Assembly "deeply regrets" that Ottawa had been chosen. That motion was defeated, but the next week, Christopher Dunkin, an independent member from Canada East, moved an address to the Queen asking that she reconsider her decision. Another Rouge member, Eugène-Urgel Piché, then moved an amendment to the address, completely rejecting the choice of Ottawa. That motion passed, with support from the Rouge members, most of the Reformers from Canada West, and some Bleus from Canada East.

The Macdonald–Cartier government treated the vote as a confidence matter, and resigned. Due to political manoeuvering, they were able to return to office a week later in the Double Shuffle, as the Cartier–Macdonald ministry. The matter of the seat of government was left untouched for the rest of the parliamentary session.

Ottawa confirmed as seat of government
The next year, in 1859, the Cartier–Macdonald ministry reintroduced the motion for funding the construction of new parliament buildings in Ottawa. This time, the motion passed, although one of the leading Cabinet ministers from Canada East, Louis-Victor Sicotte, resigned in protest. A lengthy, bitter debate arose on the issue, lasting a fortnight, but in the end the Assembly approved the choice of Ottawa and voted the necessary funds.

The government's motion provided that while the new parliament was being built in Ottawa, the Parliament would move one last time from Toronto to Quebec, where it would meet until the final relocation to Montreal. George Brown, the leader of the Reformers from Canada West, vigorously opposed the proposal, calling it a waste of two million dollars to placate Quebec for the loss of the seat of government. The next year, in the 1860 legislative session, there was one last opposition challenge to Ottawa as seat of government, but this time it was soundly defeated, with all the members from Canada West voting in favour of Ottawa. The issue was finally settled.

On October 20, 1865, the Administrator of the government, acting in the absence of the Governor General, issued a proclamation announcing that the Parliament would next meet in Ottawa.

Construction of the Parliament Buildings


Construction of the new Parliament Buildings began in 1860. Progress was initially fast, but the construction was temporarily halted in 1862 because of large cost overruns. A public inquiry was held, which found various faults with the construction process, but recommended that the original architects and builders be allowed to continue the project. By the time the buildings were completed, the total cost was $2,591,760, more than double the original budget of £225,000 (equivalent to $1,094,985 at the statutory conversion rate then in use).

By 1865, the buildings were near completion. The last session of the Parliament of the Province of Canada was held in the new buildings in Ottawa in 1866.

Ottawa becomes the seat of government of Canada


In 1864, the Fathers of Confederation, composed of delegations from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland met at the Quebec Conference and agreed on the constitutional framework for the new country of Canada. One point that came up was the seat of government. The delegates chose Ottawa. The fact that the Province of Canada had borrowed over two million dollars to build the new Parliament Buildings in Ottawa may have influenced their choice.

Although Ottawa was named as the seat of government in the Quebec Resolutions,there are some indications that the issue had not been firmly settled until late in the Confederation negotiations. On his return from London, after the passage of the British North America Act, 1867, Macdonald stated publicly in Ottawa that "he had some doubts before going to England as to whether the seat of government for the Dominion would remain in Ottawa, but he was now happy to say there was no question Ottawa was confirmed as the capital of the new Dominion." Toronto became seat of government of the new province of Ontario, and Quebec City became the seat of government of the new province of Quebec.

Even then, there was some grumbling behind the scenes. Governor General Lord Monck privately stated in a dispatch to the Colonial Secretary that he thought the choice of Ottawa was "an act of insanity". He would have preferred Quebec, because it was a port that allowed for easy travel to the United Kingdom. In private conversations, he expressed the thought that within a few years, the seat of government would be relocated to Quebec, and the extensive Parliament Buildings sold, possibly to a religious order.

One aspect of the constitutional provision is that while Ottawa is the seat of government for the federal government, the city is under the jurisdiction of the province of Ontario. There is no federal district under federal jurisdiction, unlike some other federations. One Father of Confederation, John Hamilton Gray of New Brunswick, while praising the choice of Ottawa, stated that the lack of a federal district under the control of Parliament was a mistake.

Although the monarch retains the power to move the seat of government under section 16, there has not been any such proposal since the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1867.