Robert Christie
Encyclopedia
Robert Christie was a lawyer, journalist, historian and political figure in Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
and Canada East
Canada East
Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canadian Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French-speaking region....
.
He was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...
in 1787, the son of a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
immigrant. He attended King's College
University of King's College
The University of King's College is a post-secondary institution in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. King's is a small liberal arts university offering mainly undergraduate programs....
in Windsor and went to Quebec in 1805. He became an attorney in 1810 and served in the militia during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. In 1816, he became the editor for the Quebec Telegraph, a weekly bilingual
Bilingualism in Canada
The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada" according to Canada's constitution...
newspaper. In 1827, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791...
representing Gaspé
Gaspé (electoral district)
Gaspé was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1997.It was created by the British North America Act of 1867...
and was appointed chairman of the Court of Quarter Sessions. He came into conflict with the assembly for removing magistrates who opposed the governor and, in 1829, he was expelled from the Legislative Assembly. However, the constituents of Gaspé continued to vote him back in and he was expelled four more times. The government in Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
supported Christie.
Later, Christie attempted to start a movement in Gaspé to separate from Lower Canada and join the province of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. This alienated the voters of the region and he was not re-elected in 1833.
In 1841, however, he was elected to the 1st Parliament of the Province of Canada
1st Parliament of the Province of Canada
The 1st Parliament of the Province of Canada was in session from June 15, 1841 to 1843. Elections were held in the Province of Canada in April 1841. All sessions were held at Kingston, Canada West....
, again representing Gaspé, and he continue to represent the region until 1854. He introduced the motion in 1842 to move the capital from Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. He edited the newspaper Quebec Mercury from 1848 to 1850.
He died at Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
in 1856.
Works
- Memoirs Of The Administration of the Colonial Government Of Lower-Canada, By Sir James Henry Craig, And Sir George Prevost published in 1818
- A History of the Late Province of Lower Canada, Quebec City: T. Cary/R. Montreal: Worthington, 1848-1855 (Internet Archive: All 6 volumes)