The Foundations of Parliamentarism in Quebec, 1764-1791.

• Author: Blais, Christian

Employing research from his doctoral dissertation, the author breaks with the consensus position that the first meeting of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada on December 17, 1792, marks the beginning of parliamentarism in Quebec. Instead, he traces a rudimentary form of parliamentarism back to 1764 and shows how it developed over nearly 30 years.

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On December 17, 1792, the first members of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada met in the chapel of the episcopal palace in Quebec City. This historic event is considered the beginning of parliamentarism in Quebec. But I must break with this consensus interpretation. In my doctoral dissertation on the origins of parliamentarism in Quebec, entitled Aux sources du parlementarisme dans la Province de Quebec, 1764-1791, I show that the foundations of parliamentarism in the province precede the Constitutional Act of 1791. (1)

I do not contest the fact that "parliamentarism" and "democracy" are concepts that have commingled since 1758 in Nova Scotia, 1773 in Prince Edward Island, 1786 in New Brunswick and 1792 in Lower Canada and Upper Canada. However, in the period after a British civilian government was installed in the Province of Quebec in 1764, it seems that parliamentarism could be separated from elective democracy.

A review of the minutes of the Council of Quebec (1764-1775) (2) and the minutes of the Legislative Council of the Province of Quebec (1775-1791) reveals that the members of these institutions legislated by following British parliamentary practice. (3) This means that, in the Province of Quebec between 1764 and 1791, there existed a rudimentary parliamentarism, but a parliamentarism nonetheless, in its form, conventions, practices, and traditions.

Parliamentarism in the XVIII century

What was parliamentarism in the Great Britain of King George III? What was parliamentarism in the royal provinces of North America in the XVIII century? What was parliamentarism in the Province of Quebec between 1764 and 1791? Three different answers to these three questions are needed to fully explain the unique characteristics of parliamentarism in each of these locations during this period.

British parliamentarism was malleable. It was flexible enough to address and adjust to the various colonial experiences. The specific context in the Province of Quebec gave rise to a more rudimentary parliamentarism than that of the Thirteen Colonies. And the specific context of the Thirteen Colonies gave rise to a more rudimentary parliamentarism than that of Westminster. Parliamentarism existed in multiple forms in the XVIII century.

The Province of Quebec's legislative history begins with an interpretation of Governor James Murray's royal instructions which, as of 1764, gave the Council of Quebec the power to make ordinances. While the Council of Quebec exercised both legislative and executive powers, its members did not hesitate to call their institution a "legislature."

The Westminster Parliament changed the constitution of the Province of Quebec in 1774. The Quebec Act stipulated that the Council of Quebec did not have the power to legislate. This constitutional law established the Legislative Council of the Province of Quebec. This legislature made up of unelected members was legally empowered to legislate from 1775 to 1791.

The issue turns on the definition of these concepts. What is a parliament? What is a legislature? In my dissertation, I accept the idea that there may be differences between a parliament and a legislature. Or, rather, I can identify the many similarities between a parliament and a legislature.

A legislature is defined as "a country's legislative body." Is the National Assembly of Quebec a parliament or a legislature? It is both according to the Act respecting the National Assembly of 1982: "The National Assembly and the Lieutenant-Governor form the Parliament of Quebec. The Parliament of Quebec assumes all the powers conferred on the Legislature of Quebec." (4) The concepts of "Parliament" and "Legislature" are portrayed as being on...