The '''Clergy Reserves''' were huge tracts of public land in Upper and Lower Canada that were set aside for the future use of [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[clergy]]
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The '''Clergy Reserves''' were huge tracts of public land in Upper and Lower Canada that were set aside for the future use of [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[clergy]]. They were established under the Constitutional Act of 1791 and amounted to one seventh of public land in Quebec and Ontario.
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In practice, the reserves became bastions of wealth and power for the predominantly [[Episcopalianism|Anglican]] elite (the [[Family Compact]]) in Upper Canada, which drew fierce criticism from [[Methodism|Methodists]] and [[disestablishmentarianism|disestablishmentarians]]. The reserves were secularized in 1854.