The members of the Legislative Council, twenty-four in number, were appointed by the British Governor General, Lord Sydenham.

The Parliament had three annual sessions, but then was prorogued for close to a year due to a political crisis in the relations between the Legislative Assembly and the Governor General.

They were appointed as advisors to the Governor General, who continued to exercise the executive powers of the government.

The Governor General, following the policy of assimilation set out in Lord Durham's Report, drew boundaries and chose the location of polling stations in Canada East in anglophone areas, in an effort to favour voters of British stock and to make it more difficult for francophone voters to exercise their franchise.

In one case, the threat of riots at the polling station forced Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, a proponent of responsible government, to withdraw his candidacy from the riding of Terrebonne in Canada East.

[2] This was the beginning of the Lafontaine-Baldwin alliance which ultimately led to responsible government in the Province of Canada.

Charles Poulett Thomson was the governor general from February 1841 until September 1841, when he died from tetanus resulting from a riding accident.

Jackson acted as Administrator until January 1842, when Sir Charles Bagot was appointed Governor General.