Canada A Country by Consent: The Canada Act: Who Could Vote? 1791

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Who Could Vote? 1791

Although the Canada Act created an elected Assembly, not everyone was eligible to vote in the elections. Drawing lots for land There were limitations according to property. An eligible voter had to own a certain amount of property or pay a certain amount of rent. This disqualified most city workers and domestic employees and almost all women (although women weren't officially disenfranchised until 1834 when the Patriote, Louis-Joseph Papineau, felt that politics were becoming too violent for women to participate).

Not everyone was in a position to run for election, either. Only the well-to-do could afford to travel to the city and sit in the Assembly as an unpaid legislator.

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Further Reference

THE CANADA ACT (1:36)

A Country by Consent is a national history of Canada which studies the major political events that have shaped the country, presented in a cohesive, chronological narrative. Many of these main events are introduced by an audiovisual overview, enlivened by narration, sound effects and music.

This was the first digital, multimedia history of Canada. It started out as a laserdisc in 1993 and the CD-ROM version has been used in schools across the country. It has been approved as a curriculum-supporting resource by provincial and territorial ministries of education. This online, public domain site is the fifth edition of the project.