The Canada Act of 1791 divided the colony of Quebec into two parts along the Ottawa River. The names "upper" and "lower" come from their position along the St. Lawrence River. Upper Canada was up river, closer to the source and Lower Canada was down river, closer to the mouth of the great waterway.
Secondly, how was Upper and Lower Canada created? The two colonies were formed in 1791, when the British Parliament passed the Constitutional Act, splitting the colonial Province of Quebec into two separate colonies. The terms "Lower" and "Upper" refer to the colony's position relative to the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River.
The Act divided the Province of Quebec into Lower Canada to the east (on the lower reaches of the St. Lawrence River) and Upper Canada (along the lower portion of the present-day Ontario-Quebec boundary) to the west. The Act also established a government that would largely determine the colony's political nature.
What was considered lower Canada?
Lower Canada was a British colony from 1791 to 1840. Its geographical boundaries comprised the southern portion of present-day Quebec. In 1791, Britain divided the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
