Born in 1804, Robert Baldwin was called to the bar in Toronto and became a member of the Upper Canada Legislature in 1830. After the short-lived Rebellions of 1837 in Upper and Lower Canada failed, Lord Durham was sent from England to study the situation. He governed briefly, then returned to file his report in 1839. Meanwhile, Canadians grew ever more determined to elect representatives.
When the new province of Canada was formed by the 1841 Act of Union, the new governor was Lord Sydenham. Like his predecessors, he was disincline to allow Canada's representatives to have any power to govern. Initially, he recruited Baldwin for the Executive Council. However, Baldwin resigned from his party and joined the opposition in an effort to achieve responsible government.
As discussed in John Ralston Saul's recent book about them, Robert Baldwin and his friend Sir Louis Hippolyte La Fontaine were at the centre of a group of reformers who led the first elected government in 1842-3.
Representing the interests of both Upper and Lower Canadians, these two men altered the Upper Canada school system and transferred the capital from Kingston to Montreal. They also established the non-denominational University of Toronto.
Library and Archives Canada states that when the governor refused to consult cabinet about partisan appointments in 1843, the reformers resigned en masse and served with the opposition till 1848, at which time they were re-elected.
During this three-year mandate, called the 'Great Ministry,' Baldwin, La Fontaine and their colleagues in government reformed the Upper Canada judiciary, granted amnesty to participants in the Rebellions of 1837-8, altered the system of municipal government and implemented responsible government in the Province of Canada.
For Robert Baldwin, the struggle for responsible government was the struggle of Canada against her "oppressors," those who would withold Canada's claim to the British constitution (Canadian Encyclopedia). He died in Toronto at 54; sadly he didn't live to see the Confederation he had done so much to prepare for.
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