# David Morrison Armstrong

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{{Short description|Politician in Lower Canada and Province of Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name          = David Morrison Armstrong
| image         =
| image_size    = 
| office        = Member of the [Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada](/source/Legislative_Assembly_of_the_Province_of_Canada) for [Berthier](/source/Berthier_(Province_of_Canada_electoral_district))
| predecessor1  = ''New position''
| successor1    = [Joseph-Hilarion Jobin](/source/Joseph-Hilarion_Jobin)
| term1         = 1841–1851
| office2       = Member of the [Legislative Council of the Province of Canada](/source/Legislative_Council_of_the_Province_of_Canada), Sorel Division
| term2         = 1855–1867
| office3       = Member of the [Legislative Council of Quebec](/source/Legislative_Council_of_Quebec), Sorel Division
| term3         = 1867–1873
| predecessor3  = ''New position''
| successor3    = [Pierre-Euclide Roy](/source/Pierre-Euclide_Roy)
| birth_date    = 1805
| birth_place   = [Maskinongé](/source/Maskinong%C3%A9%2C_Quebec)
| death_date    = April 14, 1873
| death_place   = [Sorel](/source/Sorel-Tracy)
| resting_place = St Pierre church, Sorel
| party         = [French-Canadian Group](/source/French-Canadian_Group)<br>Reformer<br>[Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_of_Quebec_(historical))
| spouse        = Léocadie Deligny
| relations     = [Jacques Deligny](/source/Jacques_Deligny) (father-in-law)
| children      = 1 daughter
| occupation    = Merchant;  insurance agent
<!--Military service-->
| allegiance    = {{flagcountry|British Empire}}
| branch        = [Lower Canada militia](/source/Canadian_Militia)
| rank          = Lieutenant-Colonel
| unit          = 4th Battalion, Berthier Militia 
}}
'''David Morrison Armstrong''' (1805 &ndash; April 14, 1873) was a merchant, insurance agent and political figure in [Canada East](/source/Canada_East) in the [Province of Canada](/source/Province_of_Canada) (now [Quebec](/source/Quebec)). He represented the electoral district of [Berthier](/source/Berthier_(Province_of_Canada_electoral_district)) in the [Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada](/source/Legislative_Assembly_of_the_Province_of_Canada) from 1841 to 1851.  From 1855 to 1867 he sat in the [Legislative Council of the Province of Canada](/source/Legislative_Council_of_the_Province_of_Canada), and in the [Legislative Council of Quebec](/source/Legislative_Council_of_Quebec) from 1867 until his death.  He initially opposed the union of the [Lower Canada](/source/Lower_Canada) and [Upper Canada](/source/Upper_Canada) into the Province of Canada, and supported the reform movement for [responsible government](/source/responsible_government).  After responsible government was achieved, he gradually became a [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_of_Quebec_(historical)).

==Family and business career==

Armstrong was born in [Maskinongé](/source/Maskinong%C3%A9%2C_Quebec), the son of Edmond Armstrong and Elizabeth Dunn.  His father had been a captain in the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy), serving during the American Revolutionary War, and then was the harbour master of Montreal.  His mother's family were [United Empire Loyalist](/source/United_Empire_Loyalist)s who emigrated to Canada.<ref name=CPC>Henry J. Morgan (ed.), [https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.32944/206  ''The Canadian Parliamentary Companion''] (Montreal:  Montreal Printing and Publishing Company, 1869 (5th ed.), p. 184.</ref>  He was educated in part at the English school in Maskinongé.<ref name=naq>{{Quebec MNA biography|armstrong-david-morrison-1763|David Morrison Armstrong}}</ref>

Around 1824, Armstrong moved with his parents to [Berthier](/source/Berthierville%2C_Quebec), where he established himself as a merchant, as well as an agent for insurance companies. He married Léocadie Deligny in 1831.  She was the daughter of [Jacques Deligny](/source/Jacques_Deligny), who had been a member in the [Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada](/source/Legislative_Assembly_of_Lower_Canada) for over twenty years, first for the district of Warwick, and then for Berthier.<ref name=CPC/><ref>{{Quebec MNA biography|deligny-jacques-2811|Jacques Deligny}}</ref>

Armstrong was a [justice of the peace](/source/justice_of_the_peace) and a commissioner for the trial of Small Causes.  He entered the militia, eventually becoming lieutenant-colonel of the 4th Battalion of the Berthier Militia.<ref name=CPC/>

His daughter Amélie married [Michel Mathieu](/source/Michel_Mathieu_(Canadian_politician)), who served in the Canadian House of Commons.

==Political career==

Following the rebellion in Lower Canada, and the similar [rebellion in 1837](/source/Upper_Canada_Rebellion) in [Upper Canada](/source/Upper_Canada) (now [Ontario](/source/Ontario)), the British government decided to merge the two provinces into a single province, as recommended by [Lord Durham](/source/John_Lambton%2C_1st_Earl_of_Durham) in the [Durham Report](/source/Durham_Report).  The [''Union Act, 1840''](/source/Act_of_Union_1840), passed by the [British Parliament](/source/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom), abolished the two provinces and their separate parliaments, and created the [Province of Canada](/source/Province_of_Canada), with a single parliament for the entire province, composed of an elected [Legislative Assembly](/source/Legislative_Assembly_of_the_Province_of_Canada) and an appointed [Legislative Council](/source/Legislative_Council_of_the_Province_of_Canada). The [Governor General](/source/Governor_General_of_the_Province_of_Canada) retained a strong position in the government.<ref>J.M.S. Careless, ''The Union of the Canadas — The Growth of Canadian Institutions, 1841–1857'' (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1967), pp. 1–5.</ref><ref>Paul G. Cornell, [https://archive.org/details/alignmentofpolit0000corn ''Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841–67''] (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962; reprinted in paperback 2015), pp. 3–4.</ref><ref>[https://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/PreConfederation/ua_1840.html ''Union Act, 1840''], 3 & 4 Vict. (UK), c. 35, s. 3.</ref>

Armstrong stood for election in the first general election in 1841 and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the new province, representing the electoral district of [Berthier](/source/Berthier_(Province_of_Canada_electoral_district)).  He was re-elected in 1844 and 1848, but defeated in 1851.<ref name=naq/>

In the first session of the first Parliament, elected in 1841, Armstrong was a member of the [French-Canadian Group](/source/French-Canadian_Group) from Canada East, who opposed both the new union of Canada, and the government of [Governor General Sydenham](/source/Charles_Poulett_Thomson%2C_1st_Baron_Sydenham).  Following Sydenham's death in late 1841, he continued to oppose the government of the new Governor General, [Sir Charles Bagot](/source/Charles_Bagot), until Bagot was forced to reorganise his government by taking in Reformers, led by [Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine](/source/Louis-Hippolyte_Lafontaine) and [Robert Baldwin](/source/Robert_Baldwin).  Armstrong supported the new government, and also voted in opposition when the Lafontaine–Baldwin ministry felt compelled to resign.<ref name=naq/><ref name= Cornell>Cornell, [https://archive.org/details/alignmentofpolit0000corn ''Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841-67''], pp. 5, 7, 93–97.</ref>

Armstrong subsequently became identified with the Reform group, until his defeat in 1851.<ref name=naq/>

thumb|Church of St Pierre at Sorel, where Armstrong is entombed
In 1855, he was named to the [Legislative Council of the Province of Canada](/source/Legislative_Council_of_the_Province_of_Canada) for the Sorel division and served until [Canadian Confederation](/source/Canadian_Confederation) in 1867, when the [province of Quebec](/source/province_of_Quebec) was created.  He was named to the [Legislative Council of Quebec](/source/Legislative_Council_of_Quebec) in 1867, again for the Sorel division. By the time he sat in the Legislative Council of Quebec, he was considered a Conservative. He served in the Quebec Legislative Council from 1867 until his death in [Sorel](/source/Sorel-Tracy) in 1873.  He was entombed in the vault of the church of St Pierre at Sorel.<ref name=naq/>

== See also ==
[1st Parliament of the Province of Canada](/source/1st_Parliament_of_the_Province_of_Canada)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, David Morrison}}
Category:1805 births
Category:1873 deaths
Category:Anglophone Quebec people
Category:Canadian justices of the peace
Category:Canadian Militia officers
Category:Conservative Party of Quebec MLCs
Category:Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East
Category:Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
Category:Politicians from Mauricie
Category:Pre-Confederation Quebec people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David Morrison Armstrong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Morrison_Armstrong) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Morrison_Armstrong?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.