Executive Council of Upper Canada

The Executive Council of Upper Canada had a similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the Legislative Assembly but were usually members of the Legislative Council. Members were appointed, often for life. The first five members were appointed in July 1792. The council was dissolved on 10 February 1841 when Upper Canada and Lower Canada were united into the Province of Canada. It was replaced by the Executive Council of the Province of Canada the same year.

After the War of 1812, the Executive Council was dominated by members of the Family Compact, an elite clique based in York.

List of Members of the Executive Council

Member	Town	Start	Stop	Notes
James Baby	Windsor, Ontario	9 July 1792	19 February 1833	died in office
Alexander Grant Sr.	York	9 July 1792	May, 1813	died in office and in the United States
William Osgoode	York	9 July 1792	July 1794	to Lower Canada; left British North America for Britain 1801 and died in London; Chief Justice of Upper Canada 1794-1801
William Robertson		9 July 1792	4 November 1792	resigned; eventually moved to Lower Canada and England; died in London
Peter Russell	York	9 July 1792	30 September 1808	died in office
Æneas Shaw ¹	York	21 June 1794	1807	retired
Jacob Mountain	Quebec City	10 June 1794	N/A	never attended; died in Quebec City
John Elmsley Sr.	York	1 January 1796	July 1802	Born in Marylebone in 1762, London and was Chief Justice of Upper Canada 1801, moved to Montreal as Chief Justice of Lower Canada 1802; died in Montreal 1805
John McGill	York	2 March 1796	13 August 1818	became Receiver General of Upper Canada (5 October 1813 to 2 December 1819)
David William Smith	Norfolk, Oxford & Middlesex	2 March 1796	July 1802	left Canada for England; died in Alnwick, Northumberland
Henry Allcock	York	14 October 1802	September 1804	Chief Justice of Upper Canada 1802–1804; moved to Lower Canada to become Chief Justice and member of the Executive Council of Lower Canada 1805; died in Quebec City
Thomas Scott	York	8 April 1805	August 1816	Attorney General 1801–1806; later Chief Justice of Upper Canada; granted a pension and retired
William Dummer Powell	York	8 October 1808	September 1825	Chief Justice of Upper Canada; resigned office upon pension
Prideaux Selby	York	8 October 1808	9 May 1813	died in office
Isaac Brock	York	30 September 1812	13 October 1812	died heroically and buried at Queenston Heights near Newark, Upper Canada
Roger Hale Sheaffe	York	20 October 1812	4 June 1813	replaced after being recalled to England; died in Edinburgh
Baron Francis de Rottenburg	York	19 June 1813	N/A	never attended; left of Lower Canada and England where he died in
Gordon Drummond	York	4 November 1813	March 1814	became Governor-General and Administrator of Canada; return to England and died there
Samuel Smith	Etobicoke	30 November 1813	October 1825	retired
John Strachan ²	York	11 May 1815	12 March 1836	Bishop of Anglican Church in Upper Canada; resigned ³
William Claus	Niagara	12 February 1818	September 1824	retired? died of cancer 1826
George Herchmer Markland ⁴	York	22 October 1822	12 March 1836	resigned ³; died in Kingston, Ontario
Peter Robinson	York	24 December 1823	12 March 1836	resigned ³
James Buchanan Macaulay	York	5 May 1825	July 1829	resigned and appointed temporary judge of the Court of Queen's Bench, later as permanent judge
William Campbell	York	26 October 1825	March 1828	unable to attend due to poor health and retired 1829; Chief Justice of Upper Canada 1825-1829
John Beverley Robinson	York	25 April 1829	25 January 1831	resigned; Solicitor General 1815–1818; Attorney General 1818–1829; acting Attorney General 1812–1814
Joseph Wells	York	13 September 1830	12 March 1836	resigned ³
John Elmsley Jr. (1801-63)	York	20 September 1830	1841	retired to management of his personal business; died in Toronto 1863
Robert Baldwin	Toronto	20 February 1836	12 March 1836	resigned ³
John Henry Dunn	Toronto	20 February 1836	12 March 1836	resigned ³ and returned to England; died in England
John Rolph	Toronto	20 February 1836	12 March 1836	resigned ³; died in Mitchell, Ontario
William Allan	Toronto	14 March 1836	10 February 1841	retired
Augustus Warren Baldwin	Toronto	14 March 1836	10 February 1841	re-appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
John Elmsley Jr.	Toronto	14 March 1836	8 January 1839	second term; died in Toronto 1863
Robert Baldwin Sullivan	Toronto	14 March 1836	10 February 1841	not re-appointed; later appointed to the Queen's Bench
William Henry Draper	Toronto	27 December 1836	10 February 1841	elected to the 1st Parliament of the United Canadas 1841; Solicitor General 1837-1839 and Attorney General 1840-1841
Richard Alexander Tucker	Kingston	8 December 1838	10 February 1841	appointed registrar of the Province of Canada in 1841–1851; retired to England 1851
Isaac Fraser	Ernestown	16 July 1839	10 February 1841

Notes:

Æneas Shaw was an honorary member after 1803.
The Reverend John Strachan was an honorary member until 25 July 1817.
On 12 March 1836, all members of the council resigned to protest when the new Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head refused to consult with his council.
George Markland was an honorary member until 6 July 1827.

References

Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology, Frederick H. Armstrong, Toronto : Dundurn Press, 1985. ISBN 0-919670-92-X

External links

Ontario's Historical Plaques