Reform movement (pre-Confederation Canada)
In Upper Canada (Ontario), the Reform movement was formed in opposition to the Family Compact. It was led initially by William Lyon Mackenzie, who became the principal figure in the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837. Mackenzie went into exile as a result of the failed rebellion. The uprising led to the 1839 Durham Report, which recommended responsible government and the union of Upper and Lower Canada as a means of assimilating Francophones. Only the union of the Canadas was to be immediately implemented.
Upper Canada Rebellion
The rebellion led directly to Lord Durham's Report on the Affairs of British North America, and to "The British North America Act, 1840", which partially reformed the British provinces into a unitary system, leading to the formation of Canada as a nation in 1867.