Responsible Government
In 1840, Upper and Lower Canada were united as the Province of Canada. Reformers such as Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine and Robert Baldwin, in parallel with Joseph Howe in Nova Scotia, worked with British governors toward responsible government.
The first British North American colony to attain full responsible government was Nova Scotia in 1847–48. In 1848–49 the governor of United Canada, Lord Elgin, with encouragement from London, introduced responsible government.
This is the system that we have today: if the government loses a confidence vote in the assembly it must resign. La Fontaine, a champion of democracy and French language rights, became the first leader of a responsible government in the Canadas.
unite = join together to become one unit 联合；结合
reformer 改革家
in parallel with = occurring at the same time and related in some way 同时进行
work toward 向某一目的努力
attain = succeed in getting something 达到（目的）
encouragement from the word encourage = make someone more hopeful and determined 鼓励；鼓舞
London = the capital of Britain (here it refers to the British government) 英国伦敦（此处指在伦敦的英国政府）
introduce 引入
system 制度
confidence vote = a process in which elected representatives indicate whether or not they support the leader or the government 信任或不信任投票
assembly = a group of elected officials who make or change laws （此处指 legislative assembly）立法议会
resign = give up a position 辞职
champion = someone who fights or speaks publicly in support of a belief 拥护者；支持者
问责制政府
1840年，上下加拿大并合成为加拿大省。改革者例如路易方亭及罗伯特．鮈德温，和在新斯高沙省的约瑟．豪跟英国委任的总督一起建立问责制政府。
1847–48年，新斯高沙省是第一个建立问责制政府的英属北美殖民地。1848–49年，加拿大省省长额尔金伯爵，受到英国政府的鼓励，引进一个问责制政府。
这便是我们现有的制度：若政府在议会不信任投票中落败便要下台。路易方亭是民主和法语权利的拥护者，成为加拿大问责制政府的首任领导人。
