The First Parliament of the Province of Canada was summoned in 1841, following the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada as the Province of Canada on February 10, 1841. The Parliament continued until dissolution in late 1844.

The Parliament of the Province had two chambers: the elected lower house, the Legislative Assembly, and the appointed upper house, the Legislative Council. The first general election for the Legislative Assembly was held in April, 1841. Canada East (formerly Lower Canada) and Canada West (formerly Upper Canada)) each had forty-two seats in the Legislative Assembly. The members of the Legislative Council, twenty-four in number, were appointed by the British Governor General, Lord Sydenham.

All sessions were held at Kingston, Canada West, with the first session of the Parliament called in June 1841. The Parliament had three annual sessions, but then was prorogued for close to a year due to a political crisis in the relations between the Legislative Assembly and the Governor General. The Parliament was dissolved in September, 1844, triggering the second general election for the Province, and the second Parliament, which met in Montreal.

In 1841, the District Councils Act was passed which established a system of local government in Canada West based on district councils. Prior to 1841, local affairs were dealt with by the District Court of Quarter Sessions.

First government and election

The Governor General, Lord Sydenham, appointed the first members to the Executive Council on February 13, 1841.J.O. Côté, Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada, 1841 to 1860 (Quebec: St. Michel and Darveau, 1860). All of the members were anglophones, with no francophones. They were appointed as advisors to the Governor General, who continued to exercise the executive powers of the government.

The first general election for the new Legislative Assembly was held in the spring of 1841. There was no single election date – members in different districts were elected on different days. The returning officer in each electoral district chose the date for the election in their district.

The Governor General, following the policy of assimilation set out in Lord Durham's Report, drew boundaries and chose the location of polling stations in Canada East in anglophone areas, in an effort to favour voters of British stock and to make it more difficult for francophone voters to exercise their franchise.CBC: 1841 – The First Election after the Act of Union.

The election was marred by violence. In the district of Montreal, riots broke out in six counties. At St. Laurent, an English mob scattered French voters, and then when the Tories had a majority, it closed down the vote although only a hundred voters had voted in a district with a population of 60,000.Garner, Franchise and Politics in BNA, p. 99-100

In the riding of Terrebonne in Canada East, the threat of a riot at the polling station forced Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, a proponent of responsible government, to withdraw his candidacy. In response, Robert Baldwin in Canada West, also a supporter of responsible government, proposed to his father, William Warren Baldwin, that they should assist Lafontaine's election. Baldwin senior was a candidate for a riding in the Toronto area. He withdrew his nomination to allow Lafontaine to stand for election. Lafontaine was elected. This was the beginning of the Lafontaine-Baldwin alliance which ultimately led to responsible government in the Province of Canada.James H. Marsh, "Editorial: Baldwin, LaFontaine and Responsible Government", Canadian Encyclopedia, January 24, 2012.

Candidates at this time were loosely affiliated in early political parties, but party structure was not strong. Different parties were active in Canada East and Canada West. The election gave no single party group a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Governors General

One of the unusual features of the 1st Parliament was the high turnover in the position of governor general. Charles Poulett Thomson was the governor general from February 1841 until September 1841, when he died from tetanus resulting from a riding accident. His deputy, Major-General John Clitherow, immediately prorogued Parliament. Clitherow was replaced by the Administrator, Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Downes Jackson, shortly afterwards. Jackson acted as Administrator until January 1842, when Sir Charles Bagot was appointed Governor General. Bagot resigned the office in March, 1843 due to ill health, dying shortly afterwards. Sir Charles Metcalfe then took over, and stayed in office until November 1845. He retired to England and died of cancer shortly afterwards.

Legislative Assembly

Canada East Members elected in the general election The following members were elected to the Legislative Assembly from Canada East in the 1841 general election. 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."Return of the names of the Members chosen to serve in the Legislative Assembly of Canada", Office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, Kingston, 14th. June, 1841, Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, 1st Parliament, 1st Session, 1841, pp. xi–xii.J.O. Côté, Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada, 1841 to 1860 (Quebec: St. Michel and Darveau, 1860), pp. 43–58.Québec Dictionary of Parliamentary Biography, from 1764 to the present.Paul G. Cornell, Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841–67 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962; reprinted in paperback 2015), pp. 93–111.

Riding Member Party First elected/previously elected No. of terms BeauharnoisDunscomb, John William Unionist18411st term Government supporter Wakefield, Edward Gibbon (1842) French-Canadian Group18421st term "British" Tory BellechasseRuel, Augustin-Guillaume Anti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group Turgeon, Abraham (1842) French-Canadian Group18421st term BerthierArmstrong, David Morrison Anti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group BonaventureHamilton, John Robinson Anti-unionist1832, 18412nd term* Independent ChamblyYule, John Unionist18411st term Government supporter Lacoste, Louis (1843) French-Canadian Group1834, 18432nd term ChamplainKimber, René-Joseph Anti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group Judah, Henry (1843) French-Canadian Group18431st term DorchesterTaschereau, Antoine-Charles Anti-unionist1830, 18413rd term French-Canadian Group DrummondWatts, Robert Nugent Unionist18411st term Government supporter GaspéChristie, Robert Anti-unionist18411st term Independent HuntingdonCuvillier, Austin (Speaker of the Assembly) Anti-unionist1814, 18418th term* Independent KamouraskaBerthelot, Amable Anti-unionist1814, 1824, 1834, 18414th term* French-Canadian Group L'IsletTaché, Étienne-Pascal Anti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group LeinsterRaymond, Jean-Moïse Anti-unionist1824, 18415th term French-Canadian Group De Witt, Jacob (1842) French-Canadian Group1830, 18423rd term* LotbinièreNoël, Jean-Baptiste-Isaïe Anti-unionist1830, 18413rd term French-Canadian Group MegantickDaly, Dominick Unionist18411st term Government supporter MissiskouiJones, Robert Unionist18411st term "British" Tory MontmorencyQuesnel, Frédéric-Auguste Anti-unionist1820, 18415th term* French-Canadian Group Montreal(District represented by two members)Holmes, Benjamin Unionist18411st term Government supporter Independent French-Canadian Group Moffatt, George Unionist18411st term Government supporter Beaubien, Pierre (1843) French-Canadian Group18431st term Drummond, Lewis Thomas (1843) French-Canadian Group18431st term Montreal CountyDelisle, Alexandre-Maurice Unionist18411st term Government supporter Jobin, André (1843) French-Canadian Group1835, 18432nd term* NicoletMorin, Augustin-Norbert Anti-unionist1830, 18413rd term French-Canadian Group Viger, Louis-Michel (1842) French-Canadian Group1830, 18423rd term* Ottawa CountyDay, Charles Dewey Unionist18411st term Government supporter PortneufAylwin, Thomas Cushing Anti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group Quebec City(District represented by two members)Black, Henry Unionist18411st term "British Tory" Burnet, David Unionist18411st term Independent Chabot, Jean (1843) French-Canadian Group18431st term Quebec CountyNeilson, John Anti-unionist1818, 18416th term* French-Canadian Group RichelieuViger, Denis-Benjamin Anti-unionist1808, 184110th term* French-Canadian Group RimouskiBorne, Michel Anti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group Baldwin, Robert (1843) Ultra Reformer1829, 1841, 18433rd term* Rouvillede Salaberry, Melchior-Alphonse Unionist18411st term Government supporter Walker, William (1842) "British" Tory18421st term Franchère, Timothée (1843) French-Canadian Group18431st term SaguenayParent, Étienne Anti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group Morin, Augustine-Norbert (1842) French-Canadian Group1830, 1841, 18424th term* Saint HyacintheBoutillier, ThomasAnti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group Saint MauriceTurcotte, Joseph-Édouard Anti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group SheffordFoster, Sewell Unionist18411st term "British" Tory SherbrookeHale, Edward Unionist18411st term "British" Tory Sherbrooke CountyMoore, John Unionist1834, 18412nd term Government supporter "British" member StansteadChild, Marcus Unionist1829, 1834, 18413rd term* Government supporter "British" member TerrebonneMcCulloch, Michael Unionist18411st term "British" Tory Three RiversOgden, Charles Richard Unionist1814, 1826, 18418th term* Government supporter Two MountainsRobertson, Colin Unionist18411st term Government supporter Forbes, Charles John (1842) "British" Tory18421st term VaudreuilSimpson, John Unionist1824, 18412nd term* "British" Tory VerchèresDesrivières, Henri Anti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group James Leslie (1841) French-Canadian Group1824, 18415th term* YamaskaBarthe, Joseph-Guillaume Anti-unionist18411st term French-Canadian Group

Canada West

Members elected in the general election The following members were elected to the Legislative Assembly from Canada West in the 1841 general election.