London_(Province_of_Canada_electoral_district)
London (Province of Canada electoral district)
Electoral district, Legislative Assembly, Province of Canada
London was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of the Province of Canada, in Canada West (now Ontario). It was created in 1851, upon the establishment of the Province of Canada by the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. London was represented by one member in the Legislative Assembly. It was abolished in 1867, upon the creation of Canada and the province of Ontario.
 Province of Canada electoral district | |
|---|---|
| Defunct pre-Confederation electoral district | |
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada |
| District created | 1841 |
| District abolished | 1867 |
| First contested | 1841 |
| Last contested | 1863 |
London electoral district was based primarily on the boundaries of the town of London, on the Ontario Peninsula. The town of London was the major centre of the electoral district.
The Union Act, 1840 had merged the two provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada, with a single Parliament. The separate parliaments of Lower Canada and Upper Canada were abolished.[1] The Union Act provided that the town of London would constitute one electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of the new Parliament,[2] but gave the Governor General of the Province of Canada the power to draw the boundaries for the electoral district.[3]
The first Governor General, Lord Sydenham, issued a proclamation shortly after the formation of the Province of Canada in early 1841, establishing the boundaries for the electoral district:
London was represented by one member in the Legislative Assembly.[2] The following were the members for London.
| Parliament | Years | Members[5] | Party[6] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Parliament 1841–1844 |
1841 |
Hamilton Hartley Killaly[lower-alpha 1] | Unionist; moderate Reformer | ||
| 1842–1843 | |||||
- Killaly was elected in the general election of 1841. In December 1841, he was appointed the Chair of the Board of Works. Since that was an office of profit, he was required to resign his seat and seek re-election. He was re-elected in a by-election in September, 1842. He resigned his seat on November 30, 1843.[7]
The electoral district was abolished on July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act, 1867 came into force, creating Canada and splitting the Province of Canada into Quebec and Ontario.[8] It was succeeded by the electoral districts of London in both the House of Commons of Canada[9] and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.[10]
- For party affiliations, see Paul G. Cornell, Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841-67 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962; reprinted in paperback 2015), pp. 93-111.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Proclamation, Governor General Lord Sydenham, February 27, 1841. Reproduced in the Journal of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada, First Parliament of the Province of Canada, First Session, 1841, pp. ix–xi.