The first elections in Upper Canada, in which only land-owning males were permitted to vote, were held in August 1792. The first session of the Assembly's sixteen members occurred in
Newark, Upper Canada on 17 September 1792. Shortly before the capital of Upper Canada was moved to
York in 1796 the Assembly was dissolved and reconvened for twelve more sessions between 1797 and 1840 in modest buildings in the new capital. Members continued to be elected by land-owning males to represent counties and the larger towns.
During the
War of 1812,
American troops set fire to the
buildings of the Assembly.