Editing Robert Baldwin (section)

=== Responsible Government ===
{{main|Responsible Government}}

The concept of "responsible government" has been attributed to Dr. William W. Baldwin and his son, Robert. Although the idea of colonial ministerial responsibility to a colonial parliament had been touted since the late 18th century, the Baldwins were among the first to successfully implement the principle.{{sfn|Patterson|1989|pp=186-187}} The meaning of the phrase evolved. In an 1828 Upper Canadian petition to the British Parliament on colonial ills, it was an assertion that the Constitutional Act was a treaty between the British Parliament and the colonial peoples, and could not be arbitrarily altered by one or the other party.{{sfn|Romney|1999|pp=50-51}} In 1836, when Baldwin convinced the members of the Executive Council to resign over Lt. Governor Bond-Head's refusal to consult them on administrative appointments, it did not mean ministerial accountability to the elected Assembly (Executive Councillors were not ministers) but the Crown's obligation to consult that Council. The slipperiness of the phrase points to its real goal, 'sovereignty by stealth,' without rebellion.{{sfn|Romney|1999|pp=61-65}} It was not until after the [[Rebellions of 1837]], and the implementation of [[Lord Durham's Report]], that the Executive Council became a cabinet of ministers that were heads of departments, and the phrase "responsible government" came to mean their responsibility to the elected Assembly, not the appointed Governor.