-
A group who called themselves the reform movement formed to run against the family compact and their biased role in the government. As the family compact had been changing laws so that late loyalists could not purchase land and recent immigrants had an advantage in getting land grants. By 1828 the reform movement held most of the power in the Legislative Assembly, they held the majority of power again in 1834, however their reforms got blocked by Tory-led groups. -
The Reform Movement split into 3 parts: The Moderates, led by Robert Baldwin were loyal to the British constitution, they wanted to limit the power of elites like the family compact by introducing a responsible government. The radical reformers wanted to introduce republican principles in their government, they wanted a democracy like the United States. William Lyon Mackenzie led a more extreme group who wanted a violent revolution to achieve their goals. -
A small army of poorly equipped men marched South on Yonge Street to try and engage a group of government loyalists who open fired. The front row of the rebels returned fire and dropped to the ground to get a better firing position. This caused confusion and a stampede of rebels turned and ran, thinking that the front line rebels had been killed. One loyalist, and 2 rebels lost their lives. A few days later a group of volunteers dispersed the rest of the rebels from Montgomery's Tavern. -
Sir Francis Bon Head (Lieutenant Governor) was sent to try and appease the reformers but was more successful in helping to cause the rebellion. Bon Head supported the conservatives in the election of 1836 he helped them win the election pushing reformer leaders out of positions of power. Over a 4 day span about 1000 men gathered in Montgomery's Tavern under the leadership of William Lyon Mackenzie. Many of the men that gathered were members of the farming community or people of American descent. -
Mackenzie and ~200 followers fled to the US and with the help of American volunteers the rebels spent a year performing cross-border raids in Upper Canada. Canadian militia and the "Colour Corps" captured the "Anne" which had been used to ferry rebels, hold cash, etc. the loss of the ship halted the attacks in the southwest. Mackenzie then seized Navy Island but had to give it up after the rebel ship "Caroline" was burned, the raids continued and almost caused a war between the US and Britain -
Only 2 of the first 1000 rebels were executed, Samuel Lount and Peter Mathews. Many reformers fled to the US, raids along the border caused executions, deportations, and deaths. The actions of William Lyon Mackenzie violated the Neutrality act in the US, due to this he was sentenced to 18 months in jail. After more than 10 months in prison he was pardoned by the American president. Mackenzie lived in New York and eventually was granted amnesty, he came back to Canada after the Durham Report. -
Buckner, Phillip A. “Rebellion in Upper Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, The Canadian Encyclopedia, 25 July 2013, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rebellion-in-upper-canada. Mills, David. “Family Compact.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, The Canadian Encyclopedia, 7 Feb. 2006, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/family-compact. -
Mills, David. “Reform Movement in Upper Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, The Canadian Encyclopedia, 7 Feb. 2007, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reform-movement-in-upper-canada. “William Lyon Mackenzie.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Mar. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lyon_Mackenzie#:~:text=Although%20popular%20for%20criticising%20government,%2C%20Upper%20Canada%2C%20in%201820.