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| 1840, July 23 |
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| THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT PASSED THE UNION ACT. This united Upper and Lower Canada into one government, with one governor, one appointed Legislative Council, and one popularly elected Assembly, in which the former two provinces had equal representation. Various administrative reforms were carried through. The issue of responsible government was evaded, and the principle was not firmly established in practice until the time of Lord Elgin's governorship (1847–54), in the course of the crisis arising from the Rebellion Losses Bill (1849). | 1 |
| St. John, New Brunswick, emerged as a major shipbuilding center, with the largest merchant fleet of any port in British North America. | 2 |
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| 1842, Aug. 9 |
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| Ashburton Treaty between the United States and Great Britain. Great Britain abandoned more than half of the territory claimed on the northeast frontier. | 3 |
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| 1845 |
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| Estimated population of Canada: British descent, 1 million; French, 600,000; Indian 150,000; and small number of African Canadians. | 4 |
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| 1846, June 15 |
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| Oregon boundary treaty was established between the United States and Great Britain, following a period of acute tension. | 5 |
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| Aug. 28 |
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| British Possessions Act gave Canada the right to fix tariffs. | 6 |
| Repeal of British Corn Laws and timber duties led to a collapse of prices for these commodities and the fall of exports. | 7 |
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