It was based on the town of Cornwall, located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River.

[1] The Union Act provided that the town of Cornwall would constitute one electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of the new Parliament,[2] but gave the Governor General of the Province of Canada the power to draw the boundaries for the electoral district.

[3] The first Governor General of the Province of Canada, Lord Sydenham, issued a proclamation shortly after the formation of the Province of Canada in early 1841, establishing the boundaries for the electoral district: Cornwall was represented by one member in the Legislative Assembly.

[7] It was succeeded by electoral districts of the same name in the House of Commons of Canada[8] and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

[9] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Proclamation, Governor General Lord Sydenham, February 27, 1841.