Editing Robert Baldwin (section)

=== Metcalfe and the Reform Association of Canada ===
[[File: Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe by George Chinnery.jpg|thumbnail|left|Lord Charles Metcalfe]]

The Baldwin-LaFontaine ministry barely lasted six months before Governor Bagot also died in March 1843. He was replaced with Sir [[Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe|Charles Metcalfe]], whose instructions were to check the "radical" reform government. The relationship between Baldwin and Metcalfe soured over Baldwin's Secret Societies Bill, which sought to outlaw the Orange Order and its political violence. Metcalfe rejected the legislation and then began appointing his supporters to patronage positions without Baldwin and LaFontaine's approval. They resigned in November 1843, beginning a constitutional crisis that lasted for a year. This year-long crisis, in which the legislature was prorogued, “was the final signpost on Upper Canada's conceptual road to democracy. Lacking the scale of the American Revolution, it nonetheless forced a comparable articulation and rethinking of the basics of political dialogue in the province.”{{sfn|McNairn|2000|p=237}}
[[File: Second Meeting House.jpg|thumb|[[The Children of Peace|The Second Meeting House, Sharon]], where the Reform Association met June, 1844.]]
During the year-long crisis, Metcalfe was to champion the Sydenham system and its conceptions of a limited, liberal capitalist government accountable to the imperial state, not the local Assembly; he continued to govern, demonstrating the irrelevance of Parliament. Baldwin now established a “Reform Association” in February 1844, to unite the Reform movement in Canada West to explain their understanding of responsible government before the expected election. Twenty-two branches were established. A grand meeting of all branches of the Reform Association was held in the Second Meeting House of the [[The Children of Peace|Children of Peace]] in [[Sharon, Ontario|Sharon]]. It was ultimately to serve as the springboard for Baldwin's successful candidacy in 4th York. Baldwin had been at a loss about where to run after his loss in Hastings. Orange mobs continued to rule out any chance in Hastings, or in 2nd York, where he had lost to Orange leader George Duggan. LaFontaine, in yet another act of friendship, gave up his seat representing 4th York, thus allowing the desperate Baldwin to run there. [[David Willson (1778–1866)|David Willson]], having arranged for the Reform Association rally during the illumination ceremony, now became Baldwin's campaign manager. It was reported that over three thousand people attended this June rally for Baldwin.{{sfn|Schrauwers|2009|pp=239-240}}