Introduction

John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (Ontario), convened the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly at Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) in 1792. Meetings took place in Navy Hall and possibly at other locations in the town.

In 1793, the search for a new site for the capital took Simcoe to the north shore of Lake Ontario. It was there that he began to survey the land for the town of York (Toronto). The first official structure for the Parliament of Upper Canada in York was completed in 1797 near the shore of Lake Ontario. The Building was located at the corner of King and Parliament Streets, but was only used until 1813 when American troops set fire to it during the War of 1812. A subsequent building was constructed in the same location but was also destroyed by an accidental fire in 1824.

In 1832, a larger building was opened on Front Street further to the western end of town. Following the Union Act of 1840, however, this building was used only intermittently. Between 1840 and 1867 the areas that are now Ontario and Quebec shared one Parliament with meetings taking place in Montreal, Kingston, Toronto, Quebec City and Ottawa. After Confederation, the Front Street building once again became the home of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.