Capital Moves To Toronto
On May 9, Sherwood, MPPs for Toronto, proposed to move the capital alternatively to Toronto or Quebec City. After a debate in which other cities were thrown in, Sherwood's proposal to relocate to Toronto was approved 34 to 29. On May 30, the provincial parliament was prorogued until August 9 by general William Rowan in place of governor Elgin who no longer wanted to leave Monklands. A proclamation by the governor announced the move on November 14. The Parliament stayed prorogued until it reconvened in Toronto on May 14, 1850.
Unlike Montreal, Toronto was a homogeneous town at the linguistic level; English was the common language of all main ethnic and religious groups inhabiting it. By comparison, the Montreal of the time of governor Metcalfe (1843–45) counted 27,908 Canadians, the majority French-speaking, and 15,668 immigrants from the British Isles. The statistics were similar when looking at the whole county of Montreal. In 1857 Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the new capital.
Read more about this topic: Burning Of The Parliament Buildings In Montreal
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