What was the term for the anglophone friends and relatives of the governor of Upper Canada who were also Executive or Legislative Council members?

• A. Chateau Clique
• B. Reformers
• C. Family Compact
• D. Reciprocity

Answer: (C)

Power in Upper Canada was held by a small circle of anglophone elites around the governor, a group that included the governor’s friends and relatives who sat on the Executive and Legislative Councils and used their positions to shape appointments and laws. This tight-knit network kept political and economic privileges within a limited circle, making governance less about broad representation and more about aristocratic influence. That influential group is known as the Family Compact.

Chateau Clique refers to a similar elite group in Lower Canada, not Upper Canada, so it describes a different region. Reformers were the reform-minded opponents who pushed for more responsible government and limits on elite control, not the ruling circle itself. Reciprocity is about trade with the United States, not a political faction. So the description fits the Family Compact best.