Medical Licences issued in Ontario and Quebec |
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Medical Licences issued
in Ontario and Québec
prior to 1867.
A-Z listing as a pdf file
The pdf file linked to above was compiled from a variety of sources noted below. It attempts to list all medical registrations in Ontario and Québec up to 1867; the (many) previous lists of these men (all were men) are usually for either Ontario or Québec and most are inconsistent, incomplete and are often arranged in eccentric ways. There are certainly people missing or names still mis-spelled. Corrections and additions will be gratefully received.
All of the Acts mentioned are listed chronologically, with links, at the end of this page.
General notes on “NAME”, “PLACE” and “DATE”
It should be noted that the interpretation of the handwritten records and the printed lists (where typos are frequent!) is undoubtedly not perfect; corrections of any errors or omissions will be gratefully received.
To avoid confusion, the terms Quebec and Ontario are used throughout rather than the terms used at the time. These were: Province of Quebec 1763–1791; Upper Canada and Lower Canada 1791–1840 and the Province of Canada, divided into Canada West and Canada East, from 1841–1867.
The spelling of personal names is, as usual for the time, rather variable and there is particularly wide variation with the Mc, Mac and M’ prefixes (any listed as M’ have been transcribed here as Mc) but the various lists also contain typos and what look like phonetic interpretations, and they are certainly not consistent. The list is arranged by what appears to be the correct (or most used) form of the family name with others, excluding obvious typos, listed in (brackets). Many of the printed lists use only initials but where forenames are known from other sources (often, in the case of the Quebec licences, the petition or 'monument' that the applicants sent to the Board) they have been completed. The online A-Z Canadian Health Obituaries Index at the Osler Library of McGill University was particularly useful.
The notation (H) following a name means that the licence was issued by the (Ontario) Homoeopathic Board, and the notation (E) means it was issued by the (Ontario) Eclectic Board. The Homoeopathic Board was created by an Act of 1859, the Eclectic Board was created by an Act of 1861. Both were merged with the Medical Board by the Act of 1869.
The dates are also somewhat confusing as there are three possibly ‘correct’ dates. The date of the application, the date it was approved by one of the Medical Boards, the College or the Governor and the date the licence was actually issued. Normally these events occurred in fairly rapid succession and the date given is one of the three possibilities. (Some applications are not dated; some approvals are absent and in many cases the dates are hard to read.) In general, the date of approval by the Governor, Board or College is used.
There are, of course, many other lists of physicians (see secondary sources noted below) and, as noted above, there is certainly not always agreement between them both as to who is listed and how their name is spelled. In general, if a registration is reported in any of these lists it is noted in the A-Z list.
It should be remembered that some people did not need to be registered (e.g. military physicians); some did not need to pass any additional examinations (e.g. some university graduates) and many untrained (and unlicenced) physicians and surgeons continued to practice well into the mid-nineteenth century, particularly in rural areas. Local histories often list 'physicians' - not all were registered. With a small number of exceptions, mainly persons listed in Canniff, 'physicians' for whom no official licencing information was found are NOT included in the A-Z file.
Several men initially obtained an apothecary or a partial licence and subsequently 'upgraded it' to a full medical one.
Many men registered in both provinces, sometimes almost simultaneously, sometimes after many years. After the Act of 1841 a registration in one part of the United Province gave a licence to practice in both.
For several years, researchers at the University of New Brunswick were preparing a very useful online compilation of all pre-Confederation Canadian legislation. Unfortunately lack of funding (and a death) appears to have ended this very useful project: their site remains incomplete and some sections of their website require further editing. It is to be hoped they will be able to continue as their site is easy to access and well organised. SEE: British North America Legislative Database.
On 12 June 1750 the Intendent of New France, François Bigot, was responsible for issuing an 'ordonnance' which supposedly made it illegal for untrained surgeons to practice in Nouvelle France, but it is unclear how effective it was. (Practice was only permitted for those who had "...undergone a serious examination on the art of surgery ...those of this profession who will want to exercise it here will be required to undergo a serious examination by the doctor of the King at Quebec..." (See: ECO page 18 and Leblond, S. (1970). La médecine dans la province de Québec avant 1847. Les Cahiers des dix, (35), 69–95. https://doi.org/10.7202/1025271ar )
Following the British conquest of Quebec in 1760, the first law concerning medical registration was approved by Governor Dorchester in 1788. This law made registration compulsory for most physicians and surgeons (it excluded military physicians and surgeons) in what was then called the Province of Québec. (Prior to the passage of the (British) Constitution Act in 1791 Québec included the territory that is now known as Ontario.) As noted below, Ontario did, eventually, get its own medical act in 1818, the 1788 Act continued to govern medical licensure in Québec for about 50 years.
General Notes
For simplicity, the current terms to describe the two political entities are used throughout. The actual names were:
Province of Québec 1763-1791
Province of Lower Canada 1792-1840
Province of Upper Canada 1792-1840
United Province of Canada (Canada East and Canada West) 1841-1867
Province of Québec 1867-
Province of Ontario 1867-
Ontario
There were few civilian physicians or surgeons in the sparsely populated area now known as Ontario prior to about 1800 and it seems unlikely any were among the people registered prior to 1795. After a failed attempt in 1794, the registration of physicians and surgeons in what is now Ontario changed in 1795 when the newly created provincial legislature passed an Act to ‘regulate the practice of physic and surgery’. This created a Board to licence physicians and surgeons but, as with Québec, it did not require licences for (past or current) military surgeons, nor did it "extend to any person who shall have taken a degree in a university in any of His Majesty’s dominions.” nor anyone practicing in the Province in 1791. William Canniff (The medical profession in Upper Canada, 1783-1850: an historical narrative with original documents relating to the profession, including some brief biographies. Toronto: W. Briggs, 1894.) notes that no record of an examining board being established under this Act has been found. In any case, the 1795 Act was repealed in 1806.
There were efforts made to pass a new Act in 1808 and the 1795 Act was finally replaced in March 1815 by an ‘Act to licence practitioners in physic and surgery in this Province’; under this Act a Board of Examiners was to be appointed and the successful candidates were to receive a certificate which, when presented to the Governor, entitled them to a licence to practice. However, this Act too was found to be unworkable, and it was only in 1818 that a workable Act for Ontario was adopted. This Act was amended several times and governed medical registration in Ontario until 1866. The 1827 amending Act made it possible for those previously exempt - retired military surgeons, for example - to receive licences upon application and without taking an examination. (Romano, Terrie M. Professional Identity and the Nineteenth-Century Ontario Medical Profession. Histoire sociale I Social History. Vol 28, No 55 (1995)
Though the 1827 Act was an improvement it still did not please everyone and between 1828 and 1835 at least six Bills to 'improve' it were presented - none were passed. Finally, in 1839, the provincial legislature passed an Act to create a College of Physicians and Surgeons of Upper Canada, this Act lists the first Fellows of the College but, though it operated for over a year, the Act of 1839 was disallowed by Queen Victoria in late 1840. (Announced in Upper Canada Gazette 7th January 1841). All the names in the 1839 Act (the initial Fellows of the College) are included in the A-Z list; they have the notation 'ACTo' in the “Comments” column. As the 1839 Act was disallowed, the appointed Medical Board was revived in July 1841 and operated from then until 1866 when, under the Medical Act of 1865, it was replaced by the General Council of Medical Education and Registration of Upper Canada. In 1869, following further amendments to the Medical Act, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario was formed, and all three Boards (Medical, Eclectic and Homoeopathic) were combined into one.
See: MacNab, Elizabeth. A legal history of health professions in Ontario. A Study for the Committee on the Healing Arts. Toronto, Queen's Printer, 1970.)
Sources
The primary source for Ontario registrations is Library and Archives Canada: Licenses, Upper and Lower Canada, Canada East and Canada West and Ontario, 1817-1867. The medical licence index file, for Ontario is on Reel C 3947. Images 480-519. This is a microform reproduction of the hand-written chronological file of names and dates; it does not contain copies of the actual applications. (Most of the actual applications are available at LAC, in the paper and un-filmed, RG5 B 9 volumes 61 - 68 Medical Licence Certificates and reports on candidates for medical licences, with supporting documentation.)
The index file (Register) is first arranged by the initial letter of the surnames and within each letter is in chronological order. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the microfilmed of this document is incomplete so LAC digitised it in 2024. You are strongly advised to use this digitised version of the Register; it is not only complete but MUCH easier to read! `
The note on the Register states that "this listing is complete up to the end of 1866" (but there is a note pasted at the beginning reading "All medical licences issued since 24th February 1862 have been Recorded in full in the Provincial Registrar's Office".) There seem to be fewer listings in the Register for 1866 and early 1867 (pre-Confederation) than one would expect. The licences granted by the Eclectic Board for 1866 and 1867 are on a separate microfilm - RG68, Liber Canada LT microfilm C-3908 images 452-491.
In addition to all the names from the medical licence file mentioned above, the A-Z list includes all names listed in the 1867 Medical Register of Upper Canada. This was published by the newly created General Council of Medical Education and Registration of Upper Canada which had been established under the 1865 Acts. This publication is certainly incomplete as it does not list people who had not yet applied to be re-registered under the 1865 Act (the initial deadline was 1st January 1867.) This publication notes the original registration years of those registered earlier and if supported by the records of the Board this is shown in the A-Z list. To try to catch any late registrants, the Ontario Medical Registers for 1872 and 1878 were also consulted and they were also used to complete full names. A Medical Directory for the province of Ontario, compiled by H. Strange in 1869 was also consulted.
William Canniff's useful book referred to above was also checked; Canniff gives biographies of many of the Upper Canada registrations from 1819-1850. These have “WC” in the comments column. He also abstracts the Proceedings of the Medical Board (which are currently in the collections of the University of Toronto's Rare Book Library), he lists many of those whose licences were approved and notes the names of many people (not listed here) who applied but were rejected. Any names given by Canniff that are 'unique' (i.e. not found in the Board records) have a notation “WC Minutes” in the Comments column.
Names of those registered 1819 to 1861 were printed as a series of lists from both Lower Canada / Canada East and Upper Canada / Canada West in the British American Journal of Medical and Physical Science and its successor titles:
1848, January. v.3:9: pp.247-250.1848 March. v.3:11: p.314.
1848 June. v.4:2: p.53. (See note below.)
1848, July. v.4:3: pp.81-82.
1848 November: v.4:7: p.193.
1849 June. v.5:2: p.54.
1849 November. v.5:7: p.194.
1850 April. v.5:12: p.326.
N.B. The list in v.4:2 above gives the names of the men who were registered by the College during the confused time between 1839-1841 following the passage of the 1839 Act in May 1839 and its disallowance in early 1841. The newly approved (and short-lived) College registered 17 men while the Act was in force and many of them are listed in the 1867 Medical Register of Upper Canada (several noted there as "Lic. Coll. Phys. Surg. U. C."). These names are missing from other printed lists (and, of course, from the Medical Board’s archival record index cards in the Register noted above. (The Register has a handwritten note pasted at the beginning which reads: "There is no record of licences that may have been issued between 6th April 1839 and 17th June 1841 to be found".) These names were "provided [to the British American Medical and Physical Journal] by Dr [Lucius] O'Brien, the Secretary of the late College.” The 17 names are annotated with "College" in the Comments column. During its short existence between 1839 and 1841 the College also registered a few apothecaries (some individuals, some companies); they are in the A-Z list with a note. (Canniff reprints most (or all?) of the College minutes in his useful book.)
Further additions and corrections were then published in the British American Medical and Physical Journal:
1850 June. v.6:2: p.91;1851 March. v.6:11: p.516
1851 December. v.7:8: p.361.
These lists were then continued in the British American Journal:
Registrations in 1850-1852 in 1861 January. v.2:1: pp.44-45.
Registrations in 1851-1855 in 1861 March. v.2:3: pp.140-142.
Registrations in 1855-1859 in 1861 May. v.2:5: pp.236-239.
Registrations in 1859-1860 in 1861 June. v.2:6: pp.285-286.
Registrations in 1861 in 1862 March. v.3:3: p.93.
Québec
In Québec the 1788 Act (or Ordinance) continued in force for many years but, as noted by Tunis “Many were dissatisfied … [because this Ordinance] … empowered the Governor to appoint medical men in the Districts of Québec and Montreal to examine candidates for medical licence. Only after successful examination before one or other of these boards of examiners and the granting of the board's certificate, could the candidate receive his licence, duly authorized by the Governor. By 1800, the medical boards, which had originally represented all ethnic groups, were predominantly British, and in Québec, entirely military as well.” (Tunis, Barbara. Medical Education and Medical Licensing in Lower Canada: Demographic Factors, Conflict and Social Change. Histoire sociale : Social history. Vol. XIV, N" 27 (mai-May 1981) pp 67-91).
The 1788 Ordinance created two “Medical Boards” (one in Montreal, the other in Québec City) and for about 60 years licences were issued by the Governor (or Lt. Governor), generally after a positive report from one of the Medical Boards but in 1847 an Act was passed establishing the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Lower Canada who were given authorization to deal with licencing and, after the passage of an amending Act in 1849, the College itself, not the Governor, actually issued licences.
Sources
The primary source for Québec registrations is Library and Archives Canada: Civil Secretary and Provincial Secretary, applications for licences, bonds and certificates. Québec, Lower Canada and Canada East. The medical licence application files for Québec are on reels H-1733 (to December 1824) and H-1734 (up to 1848). The applications for medical licences from 1788-1848 are on pages 1-2082. This is a file of applications (including some that were not approved, and which are not in the A-Z list.) It appears that these official paper files are also not complete as other lists have some additional names and the (unsuccessful) application(s) by William Logie - Canada's first medical graduate - are also not there. (see
https://www.mcgill.ca/library/files/library/No1092008.pdf )A (supposedly) consolidated list of Québec licentiates from 1788 to 1847 was published by the College in 1875 (Statuts, règles et règlements du Collège des médecins et chirurgiens du Bas-Canada, avec tous les amendements jusqu'au 8 juillet 1874 ... avec la liste des licenciés de la Province de Québec. Montréal: Imprimé par la compagnie d'impressions et de publications Lovell.) The listing is on pages 39-50 but it omits many names, in particular those registered before about 1820.
There is another compilation of Québec registrations up to 1849 in Bulletin des Recherches Historiques v. 8, 1902 pp 175-180 (1788-1829) and pp 201-209 (1832-1849.) (This compilation lists ca. 15 persons as being licenced but "pas de date", copied from the listing in the British American Journal of Medical and Physical Science. v.2:8 p.225.) Both of the above compilations seem to omit many persons who had died, ceased to practice or moved away and both omitted the 22 men who were licenced through the 1851 and 1855 Acts.
In 1868 the Québec College published a consolidated listing of licences issued from 1847-1868 as Alphabetical list of the members, governors, & officers of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of the Province of Quebec, Canada: and also of all the licentiates of the same College since its foundation in 1847 to May 1868. Montreal: Minerve Steam Press, 1868. This publication states that it lists “all the licenciates of the same College since its foundation in 1847 to May 1868.” Unfortunately, this list is also not complete, at least for those who had been registered prior to 1847 and were re-registered or registered by one of the 'special Acts' that dealt with those who were missed in the 1847 Act. In addition, the 'alphabetical order' and spelling of names is 'somewhat' eccentric: all the names in this publication - corrected as far as possible - are in the A-Z listing.
Printed lists of men licenced in Québec appear in the British American Journal of Medical and Physical Science.
(This has the note “The list that we now give, is corrected from one published [on pages 117-121] in the Montreal Almanack or Lower Canada Register for 1830.”
1788 to 1829 are in v.2:8: December 1846 pp.223-225.
1830 to 1847 are in v.3:8: December 1847; pp.216-219.
There is a supplementary list with some 1848 licentiates in v. 4:3 July 1848 pp.81-82.
To catch any late registrants, the Registres médicale du Collège des medecins et chirurgiens de la province de Québec for 1883 and 1895 were also checked; these volumes corrected many of the typographical errors made in the earlier lists published by the College, but they continue to omit many names and they certainly create additional spelling and filing errors!
There were, of course, physicians and surgeons practicing in “New France” (and in the British colonies) prior to the conquest of 1760; most were military surgeons. Biographies of many of those in the French colony are given in Rheault, Marcel J. La medicine en nouvelle France; les chirurgiens de Montreal 1642-1760. Montreal, Septenerion; 2004. At least one, Jean-Baptiste Jobert, remained active and was appointed as one of the first members of the Medical Board established in Montreal under the 1788 Act. There were also physicians and surgeons who practiced in the new British colony prior to the first official registrations after the 1788 Act. Some (e.g. Charles Blake and George Selby) were eventually registered, others (e.g James Bowman of Quebec) were not; probably because they had already died. Unless they were registered under this Act the names of these men are not listed here.
There were several lists of (active?) medical practitioners published in the annual Québec and Montreal Almanacks. The Québec Almanacks for 1798, 1807, 1816, 1820 and 1832 have been checked and these names appear in the A-Z list. The Montreal Almanacks for 1829 and 1831 have also been checked – these Almanacks seem to list, as is reasonable, only men who were currently practicing - the 1831 edition drops the names of those who died in 1830. Names that occur only in the Almanacks are shown with “Almanac” in the comments column; it is probable they were unregistered practitioners.
Most, but not all, the names in these other lists are in the official files; some of those not in the official files may have been registered without the need to get approval of the Québec Medical Boards (as noted above, there were two, Montreal and Québec City) because the 1788 and several subsequent Acts excused men who ‘have taken a degree in any University, or who have been commissioned or warranted as surgeons in His Majesty’s army or navy to any examination previous to obtaining a licence.”
In a few cases, what appears to be the official licence itself remains in the files at Library and Archives Canada and this may signify that, though a licence was approved and prepared, it was never actually issued – due to death or the applicant having left the Province?
In 1847 an Act established the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Lower Canada. This Act lists the names of the initial Members of the new College. Most, but not all of them, were listed in one of the other earlier lists and/or the LAC files: all are included in the A-Z List with a note “ACT” in the comments column. (Some of the names given in the Act are incomplete and it is impossible to be sure if they are 'new’.) This Act was amended in 1851 to ‘afford relief to certain persons who were in practice as physicians and surgeons in this Province”. As noted above, the 1851 Act, lists a further seventeen men whose names were omitted from the list in the 1847 Act. They are also in the A-Z listing and have a note in the comments column - ACT2. There was a further Act in 1855, this listed a further five men who were allowed to apply to be licenced - noted in the A-Z list as ‘Act of 1855’. (Though some may not have actually been licenced, all of these 22 names appear in the A-Z list though they were omitted from the 1868 compilation noted above.) The 1847 Act established the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Lower Canada and, after the passage of the 1849 Act which amended the 1847 Act, the College itself, not the Governor, was authorized to issue licences.
In 1841, when Upper and Lower Canada were united to form the Province of Canada an Act was passed by the new Provincial Parliament on 18th September 1841 to allow people formerly licenced in one Province to work in both. In the 1867 Ontario List referred to above there are many examples of men licenced to practice in Ontario based on having previously obtained a Lower Canada Licence.
There were also a few people who applied for an Act of Parliament to be allowed to sit the licencing examinations in Canada East, They were: Moise Martin Mitivier (who was subsequently registered); in 1862 (25 Victoria Chapter 108). Thomas Edouard BelIeIsle (who was not subsequently registered) tried in 1863 through 26 Victoria Chapter 67 and Elijah Rowell and Thomas Merrill Prime with Chapter 68 in the same session (they were both registered.) Donald Alexander Livingston - who had, apparently, graduated from the University of Glasgow - he is not listed in their alumni directory - had "'his Act" in 1865 (29 Victoria Chapter 117); he too was never registered.
Library and Archives Canada has also made available a small file of licences issued (or copies of licences issued) as part of Court of Quarter Sessions records from 1818 to 1841 in Quebec (MG8-B10, volume 1). "These records are typed transcripts of authorizations for licences to practice medicine in the Province of Lower Canada (Quebec). Some are transcripts of "a true copy"". In the A-Z listing of names the Province (QUEBEC) is followed by an *. The LAC listing is HERE.
Prior to 1848 the Medical Boards in Québec and Montreal also examined MIDWIVES (mainly man-midvives) and the files and lists note about 25 who were licenced between 1788 and 1848. (It should be noted that the 1827 and 1831 Acts specifically excluded the licencing of female midwives and only required it for 'men-midwives'). Though the licence files show female midwives being licenced (presumably prior to 1827), there were undoubtedly many other midwives practicing in Québec during these years; are the files incomplete, did registrations only happen if there was some sort of registration 'blitz'? So that these people (almost all are women) can be identified they are filed in the A-Z Listing first under "Midwife". The licences of eleven of them were noted shortly after the Québec College was formed in 1847. (See: British American Journal of Medical and Physical Science v 5:7 November 1849 p. 194.)
Chronology of, and links to, licencing legislation 1788+
1788 28 George III - Chapter 8 (Quebec) An Act or Ordinance to prevent persons practicing Physic and Surgery within the Province of Québec, or Midwifery in the Towns of Québec and Montreal without licence. http://online.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_02239/160?r=0&s=1
All (?) of the 'Ordinances made for the Province of Quebec ... since the establishment of the Civil Government' were reprinted in: Ordinances Made and Passed by the Governor and Council of the Province of Québec, and were published in two parts as Appendix E (1764-1767) of the Report on Canadian Archives 1913 and Appendix C (1768-1791) of the report of the Public Archives for 1914/15. (Ottawa: King's Printer). (This 1788 Ordinance is found on pp. 219-20 of Appendix C.)
1795 35 George III - Chapter 1 (Upper Canada) An Act to regulate the Practice of Physic and Surgery. Passed July 6th, 1795.
1806 46 George III - Chapter 2 (Upper Canada) An Act to repeal an Act passed in the thirty-fifth year of his Majesty’s Reign, intituled, “An Act to regulate the practice of Physic and Surgery. Passed 3rd March, 1806.
1815 55 George III - Chapter 10 (Upper Canada) An Act to Licence Practitioners in Physic and Surgery throughout this Province. Passed 14th March, 1815.
1818 59 George III - Chapter 13 (Upper Canada) An Act to repeal an Act passed in the fifty-fifth year of His Majesty’s Reign entitled An Act to Licence Practitioners in Physic and Surgery throughout this Province and to make further provision for licencing such Practitioners. Passed 27th November 1818. (Sometimes wrongly cited as 58 George III Chapter 13.]
1819 59 George III - Chapter 2 (Upper Canada) An Act to repeal part of and to amend an Act passed in the fifty-ninth year of His Majesty’s Reign, entitled, “An Act to repeal and Act passed in the fifty-fifth year of His Majesty’s Reign,” entitled, “An Act to Licence Practitioners in Physic and Surgery throughout this Province, and to make further provision for Licencing such Practitioners. Passed 12th July, 1819.
1827 8 George IV - Chapter 3 (Upper Canada) An Act to amend the Laws regulating the Practice of Physic, Surgery, and Midwifery in this Province. Passed 17th February 1827.
1831 I William IV - Chapter 27, (Lower Canada) An Act to repeal a certain Act or Ordinance therein mentioned, and to provide effectual regulations concerning the Practice of Physic, Surgery and Midwifery. Passed 31st March 1831.
1839 2 Victoria - Chapter 38 (Upper Canada) An Act to Incorporate certain persons under the style and title of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Upper Canada. Passed 11th May, 1839.
This Act was, however, formally disallowed on 9th December 1839 by a Queen-in-Council Proclamation in England - This was confirmed by a Proclamation from the Lt Governor of Upper Canada (Sir George Arthur) on 29 December 1840. announced in the Upper Canada Gazette on 7th January 1841. (Also reproduced in the Fourth Report of the Bureau of Archives for the Province of Ontario. 1906 - pages 468-69.)
1841 4 & 5 Victoria - Chapter 41 (United Province) An Act to enable persons authorized to practise Physic or Surgery in Upper or Lower Canada, to practise in the Province of Canada. Passed 18th September 1841
1843 7 Victoria - Chapter 5. (United Province) An Act to regulate and facilitate the study of Anatomy. 9th December, 1843.
1847 10 & 11 Victoria - Chapter 26 (United Province) An Act to incorporate the Members of the Medical Profession in Lower Canada, and to regulate the Study and Practice of Physic and Surgery therein. 28th July, 1847.
1849 12 Victoria - Chapter 52 (United Province) An Act to amend the Act to incorporate the Members of the Medical Profession in Lower Canada, and to regulate the study and practice of Physic and Surgery therein. 30th May, 1849.
1851 14 & 15 Victoria - Chapter 105 (United Province) An Act to amend the Act incorporating the Members of the Medical Profession in Lower Canada, and to regulate the Study and Practice of Physic and Surgery therein, to afford relief to certain persons who were in practice as Physicians and Surgeons in this Province at the time when the said Act became Law. 30th August 1851.(This Act amends the 1847 Act.)
1854 18 Victoria - Chapter 244 (United Province) An Act for the relief of certain Practitioners of Medicine and Surgery in Lower Canada. 19th May, 1855. (This Act further amends the 1847 Act to allow the registration of several people who had not been listed earlier.)
1859 22 Victoria - Chapter 47 (United Province) An Act respecting Homoeopathy. 4th May 1859. (See Canadiana)
1859 22 Victoria - Chapter 76 (United Province) An Act respecting Physic and Surgery and the Study of Anatomy. (See Canadiana) (Consolidated Statutes, 1859, pp 877-878.)
1861 24 Victoria - Chapter 110 (United Province) An Act respecting the Eclectic System of Medicine. Passed 18th May 1861. (See Canadiana)
1864 27 & 28 Victoria Chapter 22 (United Province) An Act to amend the Act respecting Physic and Surgery and the Study of Anatomy. Passed 30th June 1864. (See Canadiana)
1864 27 & 28 Victoria Chapter 51. (United Province). An Act to amend Chapter seventy-one of the Consolidated Statutes of Lower Canada: respecting the medical profession and the sale of drugs. Passed 30th June 1864. (See Canadiana)
1865 29 Victoria 1865 Chapter 34 (United Province) An Act to regulate the qualifications of practitioners in medicine and surgery in Upper Canada. Passed 18th September 1865. (“The Medical Act”) (See Canadiana) This Act is reprinted in the Medical Register for Upper Canada 1867.
(This Act was very similar in wording to the United Kingdom’s Medical Act of 1858 (An Act to regulate the Qualifications of Practitioners in Medicine and Surgery. 21-22 Victoria Chapter 90.)
1865 29 Victoria Chapter 35 (United Province) An Act supplementary to an Act of this session intituled An Act to regulate the qualifications of practitioners in medicine and surgery in Upper Canada. Passed 18th September 1865. (See Canadiana) (Reprinted in Medical Register for Upper Canada 1867.)
1865 29 Victoria Chapter 59 An Act to incorporate the Montreal Homoeopathic Association. (Established a Homoeopathic Board for Canada East. Passed 18th March 1865. (See Canadiana)
1866 29 & 30 Victoria - Chapter 54 (United Province) An Act to amend the Medical Act of Upper Canada. Passed 15th August 1866. (See ECO) (Reprinted in Medical Register for Upper Canada 1867.)
1869 32 Victoria - Chapter 45 (Ontario). An Act to amend and consolidate the Acts relating to Medicine and Surgery. The Ontario Medical Act. Passed 23rd January 1869.
See:https://archive.org/stream/statutesofprovi186869onta#page/242Finding Statutes:
1. Canadiana.ca is a database that provides access to many early Canadian documents. It is now available without charge. The Statutes are available at:
Province of Quebec (1763-1791) many are available in this compilation of those still in effect in 1825 at: http://online.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_02043
Lower Canada (1792-1836) available at: http://online.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00926
Lower Canada (1837-1841) available at: http://online.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00927
Upper Canada (1792-1841) available at: http://online.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_10042
United Province of Canada (1841-1866) available at: http://online.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00924 and http://online.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00925
2. The British North America Legislative Database As noted above, for several years, researchers at the University of New Brunswick were preparing a very useful online compilation of all pre-Confederation Canadian legislation. Unfortunately lack of funding (and a death) appears to have ended this very useful project: their site remains incomplete, and some sections of their website require further editing. It remains, however, a very useful and easy to use resource; it is to be hoped that it may be completed in due course.
Thanks: Though many names were double-checked for spelling and 'name-completion', in lists of medical graduates and other sources, many of the hand-written records are difficult to decipher and a large number still have incomplete first names. Dr Don Brearley of Belleville has been very helpful in 'filling in the blanks".
(See: https://quinte.ogs.on.ca/Dr_Brearley_Collection.htmMost recent content update:12 May, 2024.
Information on the digitised version of the Upper Canada index of Medical Registrations (Register( was added on 3 May 2024..
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