Growth and the Standard of Living in a Pioneer Economy: Upper Canada, 1826 to 1851

Abstract

B n EFORE I784, Upper Canada (Ontario), then politically a part of Quebec, was virtually unsettled. That year marked the arrival of those persons known as the United Empire Loyalists, followed by some disbanded British army personnel. The coming of new settlers was thereafter continuous, and soon, in I79I, when there were I4,000 people in the region, these lands became a distinct and separate political entity. Settlement continued at high rates until I85I, when the population reached 952,000.1 In the meantime, a further political change took place with the Act of Union (I840), whereby Upper and Lower Canada (Quebec) became the Province (Colony) of Canada, with each part keeping its distinct identity. The purpose of this article is to achieve some understanding of aggregate growth and settlement in Upper Canada and their relationship to the standard of living during the last twenty-five years of this early period, I826 to I85I. The governing structure of Upper Canada consisted of a governor as chief executive officer, appointed by the imperial government, and a legislature. The legislature, which had considerable powers and authority, comprised two units, a council nominated by the governor and, more important, an elected House of Assembly representative of the population at large. For administrative purposes, the province was divided into districts, eleven in the I82os and I830s, managed by councils appointed by the central authority. Within districts there were counties, mainly performing judicial functions, and within counties there were townships managed by locally elected authorities. The physical layout of the settlements was most important to their development. They were mainly in areas where there was some access to water transport. Thus, the early settlements were along the St. Lawrence