| Beauce | |
| Province: | Province of Canada |
| Prov-Status: | defunct |
| Prov-Created: | 1853 |
| Prov-Abolished: | 1867 |
| Prov-Election-First: | 1854 |
| Prov-Election-Last: | 1863 |
Beauce was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of the Province of Canada in Canada East, in a rural area south of Quebec City bordering on the United States. From 1841 to 1854, Beauce county had been included in the riding of Dorchester. In 1853, the provincial Parliament enacted a redistribution statute which enlarged the Legislative Assembly, from forty-two seats to sixty-five. The Beauce area was split off from Dorchester and made a separate riding. It was represented by one member in the Legislative Assembly.
The electoral district was abolished in 1867, upon the creation of Canada and Quebec.
The electoral district of Beauce was in a rural area south of Quebec City, bordering on the United States. Its territory is now included in the regional county municipalities of Beauce-Sartigan, Beauce-Centre and La Nouvelle-Beauce.
The county of Beauce had been an electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1829 to 1838, when the Lower Canada Parliament was suspended after the Lower Canada Rebellion. The Union Act, 1840, passed by the British Parliament, merged the two provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada into the Province of Canada, with a single Parliament. The separate parliaments of Lower Canada and Upper Canada were abolished.Union Act, 1840, 3 & 4 Vict. (UK), c. 35, s. 2. The Union Act provided that Beauce would be merged with the county of Dorchester to form the Dorchester riding, represented by one member.[1] [2]
In 1853, the Parliament of the Province of Canada expanded the Legislative Assembly, to take effect in the next general elections in 1854. Canada East's representation was expanded from forty-two seats to sixty-five seats. As part of the redistribution, the Beauce region was split off from the Dorchester riding and created as a separate riding.[3] The boundaries of the new riding of Beauce were as follows:
Beauce was a single-member constituency, represented by one member in the Legislative Assembly.[4]
The following were the members of the Legislative Assembly for Beauce. The party affiliations are based on the biographies of individual members given by the National Assembly of Quebec, as well as votes in the Legislative Assembly. "Party" was a fluid concept, especially during the early years of the Province of Canada.[5] [6] [7]
| Parliament | Members | Years in Office | Party | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th Parliament 1854–1857 | Dunbar Ross | 1854–1861 | English Ministerialist | ||||
| 6th Parliament 1858–1861 | English Liberal | ||||||
| 7th Parliament 1861–1863 | Henri-Elzéar Taschereau | 1861-1867 | Bleu | ||||
| 8th Parliament 1863–1867 | Anti-Confederation; Bleu | ||||||
The district was abolished on July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act, 1867 came into force, creating Canada and splitting the Province of Canada into Quebec and Ontario.[8] It was succeeded by electoral districts of the same name in the House of Commons of Canada[9] and the Legislative Assembly of Quebec.[10]