The districts were used between 1792 and 1838, when the constitution of the province was suspended as a consequence of the Lower Canada Rebellion.
Lieutenant governor Alured Clarke divided the territory of the province into twenty-seven districts each returning one or two members to the Legislative Assembly.
In 1828, governor James Kempt, who was on good terms with the elected House of Assembly, favoured the redrawing of the electoral map.
Five new districts were created, in total electing eight new memberss, in the newly settled Eastern Townships.
The following year, the old districts were subdivided into smaller ones, which for the most part were given French names.