Austin Cuvillier

Cuvillier was one of the few Canadien businessmen who was interested in politics. Most of the Canadien members of the Legislative Assembly were drawn from the professional classes. In 1809, Cuvillier stood for election for Huntingdon county, south of Montreal, but was defeated. In 1814, he tried again, and this time was successful, being elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada representing Huntingdon, as a member of the Parti canadien. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1816, 1820 (two elections), 1824, and 1827.[1][2]

Louis-Joseph Papineau, leader of the Parti canadien

John Neilson, leading force in the Parti canadien

Lord Dalhousie, Governor General of British North America, 1820–1828

His knowledge of business and finance was very valuable to the Canadiens, who were challenging the Governors over provincial finances, using well-established British principles that the elected branch of government should control government finances. They were rebuffed by the governors, who took the view that those principles did not apply in colonial government, and who could count on the support of the appointed Legislative Council to defeat measures proposed by the Assembly. Cuvillier provided the detailed financial critiques; the leaders of the party, Louis-Joseph Papineau and John Neilson, made the arguments based on British political principles. Cuvillier and Neilson were also strong critics of government spending that did not relate strictly to the administration of government, opposing subsidies for public works.[1]

Cuvillier's political activities were also helpful for the business community of Lower Canada, as he served as a bridge to the members of the Parti canadien who were not necessarily sympathetic to business. Cuvillier worked in the Assembly for many years to get a legislative charter passed for the Bank of Montreal, to replace the private contract which its shareholders operated under. The statutory charter was eventually passed in 1822. Cuvillier was also one of four commissioners appointed by the Assembly to carry out difficult negotiations with representatives from Upper Canada on how to share the customs revenues between the two provinces.[1]

In the 1820s, the British government began to entertain proposals to reunite the two Canadas. Like most of the Parti canadien representatives, Cuvillier opposed the proposal, instead emphasising the spirit of the "Constitution of 1791", the statute which had created Lower Canada and Upper Canada and created separate parliaments for each province. The Parti canadien named him as one of their delegates to Britain in 1828, armed with massive petitions and detailed objections against Governor Dalhousie's policies. After making their submissions to a committee of the British House of Commons, the Canadiens received a favourable response from the British government on the financial issues. Cuvillier reported back that there was general sympathy for the principles of self-government which they had advanced in the British Parliament.[1][2][6]

Even though they had been successful on financial issues, Papineau and his supporters were increasingly expressing more radical views, and beginning to call themselves the Parti patriote. They called for major constitutional reforms, such as making the Legislative Council an elected body, rather than appointed by the Governor. Cuvillier and other more moderate members began to distance themselves from the Parti patriote, while Papineau began to see him as a potential political rival.[7] On one issue, however, Cuvillier was the more radical, calling for indemnities to be paid to elected members of the Legislative Assembly, which would open it up beyond the wealthy landholders, professionals and businessmen. Papineau opposed the proposal as too democratic. In the general election of 1830, Cuvillier stood for election in the constituency of Laprairie, which had been split off from Huntingdon in a re-distribution. He was re-elected.[1][2]

The conflict between Papineau and Cuvillier came to a head over the Ninety-Two Resolutions. The Resolutions were a detailed critique of the existing constitutional structure of Lower Canada, and a direct challenge to the British government. Papineau was largely responsible for their drafting. They were then adopted by a large majority in the Assembly. Cuvillier was one of only six French-speaking members who opposed the Resolutions and argued in favour of the existing constitutional system. From that point on, he was considered a vendu ("sell-out") or chouayen ("turncoat") by many in the Parti patriote. In the general election of 1834, Cuvillier was defeated in his own riding. Somewhat disillusioned, he returned to his commercial activities, as well as Montreal municipal affairs, while the members of the Parti patriote moved steadily towards taking up arms against the government.[1][2][8]

The Battle of St-Denis

Warrant signed by Cuvillier and Turton Penn, Justices of the Peace, for the arrest of Wolfred Nelson on a charge of high treason, November 16, 1837

Wolfred Nelson, one of the Patriote leaders in the Lower Canada Rebellion

In 1837, the Lower Canada Rebellion broke out. The Patriotes, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau, began an armed resistance to the British and provincial forces.

Cuvillier rejected the call to arms, and was firmly on the side of the government. He returned to his militia duties. Promoted to the rank of major, Cuvillier was the commander of Montreal’s 5th Militia Battalion. In 1838, he was one of the founders of the Association Loyale Canadienne du District de Montréal, which denounced the rebellion as well as proposals for union of the Canadas, and called for political reform under the 1791 Constitution.[1][2]

In addition to his military position, Cuvillier was also a Justice of the Peace, a lay judicial officer. In that capacity, he was one of the two Justices of the Peace who signed the requisition authorising the British military to march on St Denis, the rebel stronghold, which resulted in the Battle of Saint-Denis, a defeat for the government forces.[1] He also was one of two justices who issued a warrant to arrest Wolfred Nelson, one of the leaders of the Rebellion and a former colleague in the Legislative Assembly, on a charge of high treason.

The British and provincial governments were successful in suppressing the Rebellion in Lower Canada, as well as a similar Rebellion the same year in Upper Canada. In the aftermath, the British government sent Lord Durham to the Canadas, as Governor General, and with instructions to report back on the causes of the Rebellions and possible responses.

Lord Durham issued his Report of the Affairs of British North AMerica in 1838. He called for the reunion of the two Canadas into a single province, with the expressed hope that the British populations in Upper Canada and Lower Canada would gradually assimilate the French population in Lower Canada. He also recommended that the British government accept that the principle of responsible government should be applied in the new Province, namely that the Governor should call on the group which had a majority in Parliament to form the executive Cabinet, just as in the United Kingdom itself.

Following the rebellion in Lower Canada, and the similar rebellion in 1837 in Upper Canada (now Ontario), the British government decided to merge the two provinces into a single province, as recommended by Lord Durham in the Durham Report. The Union Act, 1840, passed by the British Parliament, abolished the two provinces and their separate parliaments, and created the Province of Canada, with a single parliament for the entire province, composed of an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed Legislative Council. The Governor General retained a strong position in the government.[9][10][11]

General elections for the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada were held in the spring of the year. Cuvillier returned to the political stage. He continued to oppose the union of the two Canadas and stood for election on general opposition to the anticipated policies of Governor-General Lord Sydenham. He was elected to the 1st Parliament of the Province of Canada representing newly constituted district of Huntingdon.[1][2][12][13]

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, who grudgingly accepted Cuvillier as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly

One of the first issues facing the new Assembly was the choice of the Speaker. Cuvillier and Neilson now found themselves amongst the moderates. Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine had inherited the more radical group, formerly led by Papineau, who now was in exile. Although LaFontaine bore a grudge against Cuvillier for having opposed the Ninety-Two Resolutions, he was also trying to unite the French-speaking members to obtain power in the new government for Lower Canada. Francis Hincks, a Reform member from Upper Canada and one of Papineau's allies, was able to persuade Papineau that Cuvillier was a good choice for Speaker. As a businessman, fluent in English, Cuvillier could appeal to the Tory members in the Assembly. Cuvillier could also appeal to the Canadien members in the Assembly as a francophone himself, opposed to the union and to the bar on using French in the Assembly. Governor General Lord Sydenham, who was initially determined to bring a conciliatory approach to the government, tacitly supported Cuvillier as well. Cuvillier was elected.[1][2][14][15]

Governor General Metcalfe, opponent of responsible government, whom Cuvillier supported

During the four years of the first Parliament, Cuvillier developed very coridal relations with the succession of governors, who were engaged with the Assembly over the issue of responsible government. Matters came to a head during the governorship of Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, who prorogued the Parliament for over a year rather than accept the demand of LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin that the governor should call on the majority party in the Assembly to form the government. Cuvillier supported Metcalfe in the dispute. When the general election was called in 1844, Cuvillier was defeated in Huntingdon by the Reform candidate. At the age of 61, Cuvillier accepted that his political career was over.[1][2][16][17]