Editing Lower Canada (section)

=== Transition into the British Empire ===
Society in [[New France]] was deeply dependent on nobles, clergy, and the military. After the British conquest, British aristocrats and military personnel replaced their French equivalents. A conflict arose between the British aristocrats and the French-Canadian middle class, which was worsened by the introduction of parliamentarianism. By the end of the 18th century, the nobility's power was totally dependent on the colonial government. These problems came to a head when the British merchants wanted to build canals on the [[St. Lawrence River]] to help with navigation across the river. The French nationalists held a majority in the legislative assembly and refused to allow the construction. This led to feelings of vulnerability in Lower Canada amongst British aristocracy.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Lower Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lower-canada#ClassStrugglesandPoliticalConflicts |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |language=en}}</ref>

[[Anglophones|Anglophone]] aristocrats, often sought the support of the governor, colonial bureaucrats or the government in London, mostly because they could never form a majority in the legislative assembly. Their political defeats led them to defend their colonial ties to Britain and support conservative ideas. At the turn of the century the Anglophones began to control more and more the economic activity in Lower Canada, which lead to the French-Canadians viewing them as a threat.<ref name=":0" />