General Board of Education for Canada West

• General Board of Education for Canada West

The School Act of 1846 created the General Board of Education for Canada West. Prior to 1846, responsibility for education and schools in what is now Ontario lay with the General Board of Education for Upper Canada, from 1823-1833, the Council of King's College, from 1833-1842, and the Education Office, from 1842-1846 (the Education Office continued to exist after 1846 as part of the General Board of Education for Canada West and later as part of the Department of Public Instruction).

The General Board of Education for Canada West consisted of not more than seven members, with the Chief Superintendent of Education as Chairman. Its membership included the following: Rev. Egerton Ryerson (as Chief Superintendent); Rev. Michael Power, Roman Catholic Bishop of Toronto; Rev. Henry James Grassett, Rector of Toronto; Hon. Samuel Beatty Harrison, Q.C., Judge of York County; Joseph C. Morrison, Member of the Legislature; Hugh Scobie, editor of the British Colonist; and James Scott Howard, Treasurer of York County.

By the "Act for the Better Establishment and Maintenance of Common Schools in Upper Canada," 1850 the General Board of Education for Canada West was increased to nine members and renamed the Council of Public Instruction. This Council, in turn, formed a part of the newly created Department of Public Instruction.

The General Board of Education for Canada West was responsible for establishing, governing and regulating the Common and Grammar Schools, and School Libraries, in Canada West. Activities of the Board included: authorizing books for schools and libraries; denying grants to schools using unapproved textbooks; performing all tasks necessary for the construction and furnishing of a Normal School which was to include a Model School; managing the Normal and Model Schools once in operation; examining and certifying teachers; and advising the Chief Superintendent of Education.

The School Act, Statutes of the Province of Canada 1846, Chap. 20

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Bishop, Olga. Publications of the Government of the Province of Canada, 1841-1867 (1963)

Bishop, Olga. Publications of the Government of Ontario, 1867-1900 (1976)

Agency not found in Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12-24

Archivist(s):
G. Brown, S. Paquet, R. Stapleton