3.3.3 Rebellions of 1837–38

In Upper and Lower Canada, reformers grew impatient during the 1830s. To them, democracy was arriving far too slowly. Some looked to American republican values, and a few wanted to join the United States. Armed rebellions followed in 1837–38. One rose in Toronto, the other in the countryside near Montreal. Public support was too thin for either to win. British troops and Canadian volunteers put the rebels down. Some rebels went to the gallows, others into exile, and a number of the exiles came back later.

England sent a reformer, Lord Durham, to study the rebellions and report back. Two things came out of his report. First, he wanted Upper and Lower Canada joined together and given responsible government — meaning that ministers of the Crown can only govern while most elected members back them. Second, and far more controversially, he claimed the Canadiens would progress fastest by blending into English-speaking Protestant culture. On that point he understood French Canadians very poorly. They wanted French Canada to keep its own distinct identity.