The 6th Parliament of Upper Canada was the composition of the Parliament of Upper Canada between June 1812 and April 1816. Following the Westminster model, it consisted of
The previous was dissolved by Isaac Brock, the administrator of the colonial government, on May 1, 1812 and election was held in June. These events were slightly ahead of schedule and were triggered by Brock being frustrated in his efforts to pass legislation preparing the colony for war with the United States. On 12 July, an American army under Brigadier General William Hull crossed the Detroit River and occupied Sandwich (later known as Windsor). The incursion provided Brock with a compelling reason to convene the 6th Parliament in the last week of July for an extraordinary session. Approval for Brock's defense measures was quickly obtained, and Brock prorogued parliament on August 5 and set out on August 6 for the front line.
While references to "parliament" in modern Canadian and British political discourse generally refer to the elected chamber of the legislature, the elected assembly of Upper Canada wielded relatively little power relative to the unelected legislative council and was afforded little deference by either the Lieutenant Governor or the Legislative Council. Accordingly, the Crown and the upper house were both significant elements of parliaments in its role as the legislature of the colony.
The 6th Parliament convened for over five sessions. In addition to the brief extraordinary session in later July 1812, it held regular sessions between February and March of each of the years 1813, 1814, 1815, and 1816.All sessions were held in York, Upper Canada (now City of Toronto).
The first and second sessions were held at the Palace of Parliament located at the intersection of Front Street and Parliament Street (Parliament Street was so named for that reason, though Front Street abutted the bay at the time). It would be the last parliament to be in session at the site. The Palace of Parliament was set ablaze and destroyed by American Troops in the plundering following the Battle of York on April 27, 1813.
The House of Assembly then met once in 1814 in the ballroom of Jordan's York Hotel (about two blocks away from the previous site, on the south side of King Street East, west of Parliament Street). It then held session at the home of Chief Justice of Upper Canada William Henry Draper at the northwest corner of Wellington Street and York Street for the remainder of this parliament. This parliament was dissolved 18 April 1816.
This House of Assembly of the 6th Parliament sat in five sessions 27 July 1812 to 1 April 1816:
No known copies of the journals for the first (1812), second (1813) and fourth (1815) sessions of this parliament have survived to the present day. Accordingly, some aspect of the 6th Parliament cannot be definitely explained or determined.
The House of assembly remained at 25 seats, with some slight redistribution of electoral division.
The Legislative Council was the appointed upper house of the parliament. It held veto power over all legislations passed by the elected assembly and exercised it regularly with little deference to assembly democratic mandate. Members were appointed for life (but were subject to removal for non-attendance), therefore the date for the end of their term were usually the date of their death.