Legislative Council of Quebec

The Legislative Council of Quebec (French: Conseil législatif du Québec, pronounced [kɔ̃sɛj leʒislatif dy kebɛk]) was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec from 1867 to 1968. The Legislative Assembly was the elected lower house.

The council was composed of 24 members, appointed by the lieutenant governor upon the recommendation of the premier. Each councillor nominally represented a portion of the Province of Quebec called a division. The boundaries of these divisions were identical to the ones used for Canada East by the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada and were also identical to the boundaries still used today by the Senate of Canada for Quebec. The division boundaries were never changed to accommodate territorial expansions of Quebec in 1898 and 1912.

The Legislative Council was abolished in 1968 and the Legislative Assembly was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. Since the abolition, Quebec has a unicameral legislature.

The council had the right to introduce bills, except of a financial nature, and to amend or reject bills passed by the Legislative Assembly. Its speaker, known in French as orateur, was by right a member of the Cabinet, and its members could serve as ministers or even premier. Two Quebec premiers, Charles-Eugène Boucher de Boucherville and John Jones Ross, were members of the Legislative Council.

Members were originally appointed for life. In 1963, the rule was changed to force members to retire at age 75, but that did not apply to members who had already been appointed. In the event, the change remained entirely theoretical since the council was abolished before it could be applied to anyone.

Effective December 31, 1968 the Legislative Council was abolished, and the Legislative Assembly of Quebec was renamed the National Assembly. As a consequence, Quebec now has a unicameral legislature. The establishment of the original system dates back to the Constitutional Act of 1791.

The Union Nationale government of Premier Jean-Jacques Bertrand passed the legislation, known as "Bill 90", to implement the change. Previous governments had made unsuccessful attempts to eliminate the upper chamber. In fact, the first attempt dated all the way back to Félix-Gabriel Marchand, in the late 19th century. Quebec was the last Canadian province to abolish its upper house.

When it was dissolved, it had 15 members of the Union Nationale and 9 Liberal Party members.