Above: (1)
Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine and
(2)
Robert Baldwin were partners in the struggle to make governments
responsible to electors, rather than to the British Crown.
(3) In 1841, Robert Baldwin supported the bid of Louis-Hippolyte
La Fontaine for a Toronto-area seat in the legislature
of the newly created Province of Canada. When the Province of Canada
won responsible government in 1848, La Fontaine became
its premier.
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1848
Responsible Government
Louis-Hippolyte
La Fontaine, from Lower Canada (now
Quebec), and Robert Baldwin, from Upper Canada (now Ontario),
united their efforts to promote the principle of responsible government.
They succeeded, and responsible government was first established
in what is now Canada in 1848. What makes government responsible
is an elected assembly that has full authority to legislate and
is accountable only to electors. This is what gives the vote its
true value.
Elected legislative assemblies had
existed since 1758, but representatives of the British Crown could block any
decision they made. Hence, the legislatures were not responsible to electors.
Before 1758, what is now Canada was governed directly by representatives of
the colonial powers, France and Britain.
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