The beginnings of Democracy

Unlike many other nations, democracy in Canada enjoyed a gradual and peaceful development. Halifax, Nova Scotia, was the first to elect a representative assembly in 1758, followed by Prince Edward Island in 1773 and New Brunswick in 1785. In 1791 the Constitutional Act split Quebec Province into the loyalist, Protestant English-speaking Upper Canada (now Ontario) and the catholic French-speaking Lower Canada (now Quebec).

Around this time Canada became the official name for the country, and the Constitutional Act gave both regions elected legislatures. Upper and Lower Canada, along with the Atlantic colonies, were known in total as British North America.