Editing Robert Baldwin (section)

=== Municipal government ===
{{main|Municipal government in Canada}}
Municipal government in Upper Canada was under the control of appointed magistrates who sat in [[Court of Quarter Sessions|Courts of Quarter Sessions]] to administer the law within a District. A few cities, such as Toronto, were incorporated by special acts of the legislature. After the Union of the Canadas, the new governor, [[Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham|Charles Poulett Thomson]], 1st Baron Sydenham, spearheaded the passage of the District Councils Act which transferred the municipal government to District Councils. His bill allowed for two elected councilors from each township, but the warden, clerk, and treasurer were to be appointed by the government. This thus allowed for strong administrative control and continued government patronage appointments. Sydenham's bill reflected his larger concerns to limit popular participation under the tutelage of a strong executive.{{sfn|Whebell|1989|page=194}} Baldwin was one of the few Reformers who opposed the District Council Act; he considered its reform by the Baldwin Act in 1849 one of his greatest accomplishments. The Baldwin Act made the municipal government truly democratic rather than an extension of central control of the Crown. It delegated authority to the municipal governments so they could raise taxes and enact [[by-law]]s. It also established a hierarchy of types of municipal governments, starting at the top with cities and continued down past towns, villages and finally townships. This system was to prevail for the next 150 years.{{sfn|White|2001|p=134}}