[URBAN NOTE] "The first (almost) Canadian President"

[rfmcdonald]

Late last month, Spacing Toronto's Adam Bunch wrote a nice biography of John Rolph, an aspiring radical politician in pre-1837 Upper Canada who for a time looked like he might become the leader of a Canadian republic. (This failed, needless to say.)

There’s a small town on the very western edge of England, not far from the River Severn, which marks the border with Wales. It’s called Thornbury. It’s a lovely place; the High Street is lined with flowers, filled with shoppers, and draped in bunting and flags. There’s a lot of history, too. Thornbury is where they found one of the biggest hoards of Roman coins ever discovered in Britain. There’s a church from the 1100s. And right next door to that is the 500 year-old Thornbury Castle, where King Henry VIII once stayed with Anne Boleyn after beheading the original owner for treason.

But Thornbury also has a connection to the history of Toronto. It’s the town where John Rolph was born. And for a few brief days during the winter of 1837, it looked like John Rolph might end up being the very first Canadian President.

The Rolphs were one of the most important families in Thornbury — a line of lawyers and doctors and landlords who owned a bunch of the buildings in town. John Rolph was the son of a surgeon; he was christened in that ancient church and grew up in the late 1700s with 17 brothers and sisters. In the early 1800s, his family moved to Canada. And as soon as he was done school, the young Rolph joined them. Eventually, he’d follow in the footsteps of his father and his grandfather, becoming one of the most respected doctors and lawyers in Upper Canada. He even co-founded our very first medical school.

But it’s his politics we remember him for. By the time he was in his early 30s, Rolph was one of the leading Reformers in the province. He fought in favour of democratic reform, equal rights for American-born citizens and the separation of church and state.

It was a bitter fight. These were the days when the Lieutenant Governor could pretty much ignore the elected assembly whenever he wanted. He was backed by the most powerful people in Upper Canada: the Tories of the Family Compact, who loved Britain, hated democracy, and could usually count on the Governors to give them what they wanted. People who spoke out in favour of reform tended to get arrested, exiled, or attacked by angry Tory mobs.