Editing Upper Canada (section)

===Sydenham and the Union of the Canadas===
{{wikisource|Report on the Affairs of British North America}}
{{main|Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham|Province of Canada}}

After the Rebellions, the new governor, [[Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham]], proved an exemplary [[Utilitarian]], despite his aristocratic pretensions. This combination of free trade and aristocratic pretensions needs to be underscored; although a liberal capitalist, Sydenham was no radical democrat. Sydenham approached the task of implementing those aspects of Durham's report that the colonial office approved of, municipal reform, and the union of the Canadas, with a "campaign of state violence and coercive institutional innovation&nbsp;... empowered not just by the British state but also by his [[Benthamite]] certainties."<ref>{{cite journal|last=McKay|first=Ian|title=The Liberal Order Framework: A prospectus for a reconnaissance of Canadian History|journal=Canadian Historical Review|year=2000|volume=81|issue=4|pages=616–678|doi=10.3138/chr.81.4.616 |s2cid=162365787}}</ref> Like governors Bond Head before him, and Metcalfe after, he was to turn to the [[Orange Order]] for often violent support. It was Sydenham who played a critical role in transforming Compact Tories into Conservatives.

Sydenham introduced a vast expansion of the state apparatus through the introduction of municipal government. Areas not already governed through civic corporations or police boards would be governed through centrally controlled District Councils with authority over roads, schools, and local policing. A strengthened Executive Council would further usurp much of the elected assembly's legislative role, leaving elected politicians to simply review the administration's legislative program and budgets.