The Province of Quebec, with a population of 145,000 French-speaking Canadiens,[citation needed] was divided in two when the act took effect on 26 December 1791.

Upper Canada received English law and institutions, while Lower Canada retained French civil law and institutions, including feudal land tenure and the privileges accorded to the Roman Catholic Church.

These reserves created many difficulties in later years, making economic development difficult[citation needed] and creating resentment against the Anglican church, the Family Compact, and the Château Clique, although it did eventually lead to the growth of an Ottawa neighbourhood known as The Glebe.

The disjuncture between this French-Canadian ideal of Lower Canada as a distinct, national homeland and the reality of continued Anglo-Canadian political and economic dominance of the province after 1791 led to discontent and a desire for reform among intellectual segments of the French and English of Lower Canada.

This title was based on the fact that the provisions relating to clergy endowments were the only part of the act still in force at that time.

The federal government, the Supreme Court of Canada and academics continue to refer to it as the Constitutional Act, 1791.