Canada Company - Definition

The Canada Company was a large chartered company set up in 1824 to aid the colonization of Upper Canada. The government of Upper Canada sold the company 10,000 km² of land for 341 000 pounds. Most of this land was located in the Huron Tract around what is now London, Ontario. The company surveyed and subdivided this massive area, built roads, mills, and schools and advertised it to buyers in Europe. The company then assisted in the migration of new settlers, bringing them to the area by means of a boat on Lake Ontario, which the company also owned.

The companies mismanagement and corruption, and its close alliance with the Tory elites, was an important contributing factor to the revolt of 1837.

See also: the British-American Land Company, the Lower Canada equivalent of the Canada Company