|
Family Compact, disparaging epithet applied by contemporaries to the small group of officials who dominated the executive and legislative councils, senior bureaucratic positions and the judiciary of UPPER CANADA until the 1830s. The group emerged after John Graves SIMCOE, UC's first lieutenant-governor, attempted to create a local aristocracy by appointing his Loyalist friends to government posts and granting them land.
The next generation, including John Beverley ROBINSON, was supplemented by Britons, including John STRACHAN, who arrived before 1812 and were drawn into the governing TORY elite. The compact, centred at York [Toronto], was linked by family, patronage and shared political and social beliefs to the professional and mercantile upper middle class. It was sustained by conservative groups throughout the province. The compact gave vitality to the political ideology that shaped UC: drawing upon Loyalist beliefs, the Tories envisaged the development of a society strengthened by the imperial connection and hostile to the US. It idealized British institutions such as a balanced constitution, a hierarchical society and an established church. By the 1830s the compact was losing influence. Its exclusiveness provoked opponents to seek to reform the political system, and helped provoke the discontent that led to the REBELLIONS OF 1837. The rebellion was easily crushed, but the victorious Family Compact Tories in the government were soon squeezed out of politics by a new group of moderates who accepted the legitimacy of political opposition and the development of a PARTY SYSTEM.
 Robinson, John BeverleyAs a member of the Family Compact, Robinson was a defender of the imperial connection and a social hierarchy headed by a chosen elite. Drawing by George Berthon (courtesy Metro Toronto Library).
 Strachan, Bishop JohnStrachan sought special status for the Church of England and became the centre of controversy as he defended Anglican monopoly of the Clergy Reserves and dominance in politics and education (courtesy Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library/T15000).
Author
DAVID MILLS
Links to Other Sites
Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site
This Parks Canada site commemorates the 1838 Battle of the Windmill. Includes historical notes about Hunters' Lodges, the Family Compact and William Lyon Mackenzie.
The Rebellions of 1837-1838
Learn about the simmering political and social issues that set off the insurrections in Lower and Upper Canada from 1837 to 1838. Features biographies of leading figures, great illustrations, maps and snippets of some of the fiery oratory of the time. Part of the Histori.ca “Peace and Conflict” educational website.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Time waits for no man… and neither do trains... |
|
| Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River ... |
|
|
| The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - ... |
|
|
| Sir John Alexander Macdonald, lawyer, businessman, politician, first prime minister of Canada (b at Brunswick Place, ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| John Ware, "Nigger John," horseman, rancher (b near Georgetown, SC 1845; d near Brooks, Alta 11 Sept 1905). ... |
|
|
| Créditistes, Québec party involved in federal politics. For nearly 2 decades before its 1958 formation ... |
|
|
| Julia Verlyn LaMarsh, "Judy," lawyer, politician, broadcaster, novelist (b at Chatham, Ont 20 Dec 1924; d at ... |
|
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
| THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA |
|
| The Drowsy Chaperone. Musical, book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. The Drowsy Chaperone made its debut in 1998 as a unique wedding present for Bob Martin and his bride, ... |
|
|
