Quebec Act

Quebec Act (An Act for making more effective Provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec in North America) was a British statute which received royal assent 22 June 1774 and became effective 1 May 1775. The Act enlarged the boundaries of the PROVINCE OF QUEBEC to include Labrador, Ile d'Anticosti and Iles de la Madeleine on the east, and the Indian territory south of the Great Lakes between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers on the west. The colony was to be governed by a governor and 17 to 23 appointed councillors; an elected assembly was not provided. Religious freedom was guaranteed for the colony's Roman Catholic majority, and a simplified Test Oath, which omitted references to religion, enabled them to enter public office conscientiously (see CATHOLICISM). The Act established French civil law and British criminal law and provided for continued use of the SEIGNEURIAL SYSTEM.

The Quebec Act was framed largely by Gov Sir Guy CARLETON, although not all of his policies were incorporated into it. The Quebec Act has been interpreted in a number of ways. Some felt it was an attempt to rectify some of the problems created by the ROYAL PROCLAMATION OF 1763, which dramatically reduced the size of NEW FRANCE, provided an untouchable Indian territory out of the vast western interior and promised an elected assembly. Others felt it was an attempt to deal more fairly with the colony's French Catholics, perhaps with a view to ensuring their loyalty in the event of troubles with the American colonies, and it effectively guaranteed the survival of the ancien régime society in North America. Territorial expansion was a recognition of Montréal's role in the continental economy, and the Act returned to the Québec economy its traditional links with the fisheries and interior FUR TRADE.

American settlers were enraged when Québec acquired the Indian territory, which they perceived to be theirs by right; they considered the Quebec Act one of the "Intolerable Acts" which contributed to the outbreak of the AMERICAN REVOLUTION. Anglophone members of Québec's population, although pleased with the territorial expansion, were dissatisfied that an elected assembly was not provided for.

The Quebec Act became less effective when LOYALISTS began arriving in the colony after 1783. It was eventually replaced by the CONSTITUTIONAL ACT, 1791, which created UPPER CANADA and LOWER CANADA.

Author NANCY BROWN FOULDS

Suggested Reading
Hilda Neatby, The Quebec Act (1972).

Links to Other Sites
French Canada and the Early Decades of British Rule (1760 - 1791)
A digitized copy of a booklet that examines the issues and policies that defined Britian's administration of its North American colonies in the decades preceeding the implementation of the Quebec Act and the Constitutional Act. From the Canadian Historical Association and Library and Archives Canada.

Lower Canada
This overview of the political history of Lower Canada is part of the "Canadian Confederation" website at Library and Archives Canada. Also features historical maps.

The Quebec History Encyclopedia
An extensive information source about Québec history. Features texts from encyclopedias, biographical dictionaries, anthologies, and other references that were published at least 50 years ago. Some articles in French. Produced by Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College.

Canadian Geographic: Historical Maps
Take a walk through the history of Canada. Select a year to see the maps and the history related to that era. From the "Canadian Geographic" website.