On September 17, 1792, Colonel John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, opened in this community, then the capital, the first provincial parliament. The legislature consisted of an appointed Legislative Council and an elected Legislative Assembly. Its opening marked the introduction of a form of representative government into this province. Previously, both the French and British regimes had been directed by a royal governor advised by an appointed council of officials and prominent citizens. This first parliament held all its sittings in "Newark", as Simcoe re-named Niagara, but the second was summoned to meet in 1797 at York (Toronto), the new seat of government.

Location

In front of the old courthouse building, 26 Queen Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Themes

• Politics and law