The Upper Canada reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Upper Canada

Upper Canada is an early name for land at the upstream end of the Saint Lawrence River, north of Lakes Ontario and Erie in early North America. It became a political entity in 1791 with the passing of the Constitutional Act, which divided the Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. The division was effected so that loyalist American settlers in Upper Canada could have British laws and institutions.

This area is the ancestor of the southern part of the present day province of Ontario, Canada. See the Canadas and Canada West.

The Act Against Slavery passed in Upper Canada on July 9, 1793.

On February 1, 1796 the capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York (now Toronto).

During the War of 1812, following General Isaac Brock's capture of Detroit on August 16, 1812, the Michigan Territory was at least nominally a part of the Province of Upper Canada.

When the capital first moved to Toronto, the Parliament of Upper Canada was located at the corner of Parliament and Front Streets, in a building that was eventually abandoned. In 2001, the remains of the original Parliament building were found during preparations to build a car dealership on that site.

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