Carleton, << KAHRL tuhn, >> Sir Guy (1724-1808), was a British general and governor in Canada. He tried to gain the support of French Canadians for British rule in the colony of Quebec. France had yielded Quebec to Britain in 1763. Carleton helped frame the Quebec Act of 1774, which granted greater freedom to the French Canadians. See Quebec Act .
Carleton was born in Strabane in what is now Northern Ireland. He began a military career in Britain and was named governor of Quebec in 1768. He held that post 10 years. In 1775, during the Revolutionary War in America, Carleton defended Quebec against an American invasion. For his success, he was knighted. In 1782, Carleton became British commander-in-chief in North America. In 1786, he was given separate commissions as governor of the colonies of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Carleton also received the title Baron Dorchester. During his administration, the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided Quebec into the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada and gave Canadians representative government. In 1796, Carleton returned to England.
