- Ontario's first Lieutenant Governor
John Graves Simcoe was born on February 25, 1752 in Cotterstock, Northamptonshire in Britain. In 1770, after graduating from Eton College and Oxford, he entered the British army. He obtained a commission in the 35th Regiment of Foot, and was sent to Boston to fight in the American Revolution. He purchased a majority in the 40th Regiment with which he served until 1777, when he was made commanding officer of the 1st American Regiment (Queen's Rangers).
Simcoe was an innovative tactician and, on the battlefield, one of the army's most successful commanders. He achieved the rank of lieutenant-colonel and was wounded three times before being captured in 1779. Two years later, Simcoe was invalided back to Britain and, in 1782, he married Elizabeth Gwillim and purchased Wolford Lodge.
In 1791, Simcoe was appointed the first lieutenant-governor of the newly created Province of Upper Canada.
- Simcoe arrives in Ontario
In September 1791, Simcoe set sail from Britain with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Sophia, leaving three other daughters behind with their aunt.
When the Simcoe family arrived at Quebec City on November 11, it was too late in the season to make the journey to Upper Canada and they spent the winter in Quebec becoming familiar with Canadian social life and the responsibilities of the office of lieutenant-governor.
The next spring, Simcoe moved on to Kingston and then Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake). The Upper Canada that Simcoe experienced when he first arrived was largely an uncleared wilderness populated by the First Nations and Loyalist settlers. Simcoe was "delighted with the beauty of the Country & Industry of the Inhabitants" and soon began to implement his plans to develop the province.
"... These scenes have afforded me so much delight that I class this day with those in which I remember to have felt the greatest pleasure from fine objects, whether of Art or Nature ... " Elizabeth Simcoe, April 23, 1793
- Opening of the first provincial legislature
Simcoe's first priority after arriving in Upper Canada was to establish the provincial government. The Province of Upper Canada, today the Province of Ontario, was created under the Constitutional Act of 1791.
This law stipulated that the provincial government would consist of the Lieutenant-Governor, an appointed Executive Council and an elected Legislative Council. The first meeting of the nine-member Legislative Council and 16-member Legislative Assembly took place at Newark on September 17, 1792. The session was formally opened by Simcoe who declared, in his speech to its members, that the "advantages of the Province of Upper Canada are inferior to none on this side of the Atlantic."
- Defending the province and the founding of York
With Britain at war in Europe, Simcoe began to strengthen Upper Canada's defences. He passed the Militia Act in 1793 creating the provincial militia and making all male inhabitants of Upper Canada between the ages of 16 and 60 liable for military service anywhere in the province during time of war.
Simcoe also recognized that Newark's proximity to the American border left the government vulnerable to attack. Consequently, he decided to relocate the provincial capital to present-day Toronto. The site, which Simcoe named York, had an excellent harbour and was strategically located away from the border, midway between the military centres of Niagara and Kingston. Simcoe quickly set about establishing a military and naval arsenal there and ordered the Queen's Rangers to build a small garrison and temporary fortifications. Eventually, these defences grew into Fort York. Today, Toronto is still the capital of the province.
- Early road building
Imitating the military roads the Romans built in Britain, Simcoe began construction of two main routes through Ontario. Yonge Street, named after the Minister of War Sir George Yonge, was built north-south along the fur trade route between Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe. Soldiers of the Queen's Rangers began cutting the road in August 1793, reaching Holland Landing in 1796.
Another road, Dundas Street, named for the Colonial Secretary Henry Dundas, was built east-west between Burlington Bay and the Thames River. The road was later extended eastward to York. These two roads were intended to aid in the defence of Upper Canada but would also help encourage settlement and trade throughout the province.
- Settlement and immigration
To encourage immigration and settlement in Upper Canada, Simcoe established a system by which the government could regulate the distribution of land and discourage speculation. The province was divided into 19 counties, and townships laid out in 200-acre lots separated by concession roads. A portion of the land in each township was reserved for the Crown and another portion for the Protestant Clergy. The remainder was to be granted to "such as are desirous to settle on the Lands of the Crown in the Province of Upper Canada."
The land was granted free of charge on the condition that the settlers would build upon their property within one year. Simcoe himself received significant grants of land in recognition of his service as Colonel of the Queen's Rangers during the American Revolution. On land in Toronto granted to Simcoe's newborn son Francis, he built a residence which he named Castle Frank.
- The Anti-Slavery Act of 1793
Perhaps Simcoe's most important achievement as lieutenant-governor was the limitation of slavery in the province.
Initially, Simcoe proposed the outright abolition of slavery.
However, the Legislative Assembly opposed this proposal because many
Loyalists brought enslaved people with them to Upper Canada after the
American Revolution. As a compromise, Simcoe passed legislation that
allowed for gradual abolition: slaves already in the province would
remain enslaved until death, no new slaves could be brought into Upper
Canada, and children born to female slaves would be freed at age 25.
This act was the first to limit slavery in the British Empire and
remained in force until 1833 when the Emancipation Act abolished slavery
in all British holdings, including Ontario.
- A lasting legacy
In July 1796, just four years after becoming Ontario's first lieutenant-governor, poor health forced Simcoe to return to Britain. He
was unable to return to Upper Canada and, in 1798, resigned his office. Later, he served briefly as governor of St. Domingo (Haiti) and commander of the Western District in Britain. In 1806, he was appointed commander-in-chief of India but died before assuming that post. He was buried in Wolford Chapel on the Simcoe family estate.
Today, the chapel is owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust. Provincial plaques commemorating Lieut.-General John Graves Simcoe 1751-1806 have been erected by the Trust at the Legislature in Toronto, Wolford Chapel
where Simcoe is buried, and the house in Exeter, Britain where Simcoe died.
Explore the Archives of Ontario's online exhibit on the art of Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe ...
