Robert Baldwin
May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858
The man who won Canadians their democracy without a revolution — with Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine, he achieved responsible government in 1848.
The Story
Robert Baldwin was born in York (now Toronto) on May 12, 1804, into one of Upper Canada's most prominent legal families. A lawyer and moderate reformer, he believed the colonies should be governed by ministers responsible to the elected assembly — not to a governor's favourites.
In 1848, Baldwin and his partner Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine of Canada East formed the Great Ministry, the Province of Canada's first responsible government. Their reforms built modern municipal government and modernised the courts — and their Rebellion Losses Bill so enraged Montreal Tories that rioters burned the Parliament buildings in 1849. Baldwin resigned in 1851, exhausted and in poor health, and died in Toronto on December 9, 1858. Every Canadian government since rests on the principle he won: a ministry holds power only while the people's representatives allow it.
In 1848, Baldwin and his partner Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine of Canada East formed the Great Ministry, the Province of Canada's first responsible government. Their reforms built modern municipal government and modernised the courts — and their Rebellion Losses Bill so enraged Montreal Tories that rioters burned the Parliament buildings in 1849. Baldwin resigned in 1851, exhausted and in poor health, and died in Toronto on December 9, 1858. Every Canadian government since rests on the principle he won: a ministry holds power only while the people's representatives allow it.
- Buried
- St. James Cemetery, Toronto