FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2017 11 207 Queen Street, Port Perry 905-985-3011 SALE FRIDAY NOVEMBER 24 10 am - 6 pm 20% off 50% off including art and mirrors in stock items only plus SARAH RICHARDSON Bedding their loyalty not necessarily to the British monarch, but to the British parliamentary system and the freedom that it symbolized. Robert Perry and his wife Jemima were forced to aban- don their farm in Vermont. They fled north to Canada with only the meager possessions they could carry and made their way to begin a new life near Napanee, in what is now Ontario. Here they raised their eight children. Peter was their sixth child. Peter Perry made many significant contributions to the early growth of our nation and our local municipalities. In 1824 Peter Perry ran successfully for office in the Assembly along with Marshall Spring Bidwell, as repre- sentatives of Lennox and Addington. Their platform of Reform had the support of many prominent people out- side the legislature including William Lyon Mackenzie who at that time was running a newspaper as well as Dr. William Warren Baldwin, an influential and respected doctor who lived in York (Toronto). By 1828 Perry was clearly regarded as the leader of the Reform movement. He welcomed Baldwin and Mackenzie’s election that year as members of the legis- lature, placing the Legislative Assembly under the con- trol of the Reformers. During this sitting, Perry showed his leadership by moving or seconding almost every piece of legislation that advocated change or reform. Unfortunately the Legislative Council, which was the up- per house, was composed of members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. The Legislative Council defeated most pieces of reform legislation passed by the Assembly, the lower house. Peter Perry served on 35 Legislative committees while in office. His work on these committees led to major changes in the lives of the people of Upper Canada. When a political crisis arose in 1836, William Lyon Mackenzie was already roaming the countryside talk- ing of an armed uprising. The Lieutenant Governor, Sir Francis Bond Head refused to support bills that had gone through and in a sense of utter frustration, everybody resigned. In the ensuing election, Head actively cam- paigned against Perry and wielded enough influence to defeat Perry and the Reformers. Within months of losing, Perry took his family and moved to what is now Whitby where he had purchased land including the Windsor Harbour. Peter Perry owned the harbour and had a great vision for a transportation and communication system from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron, passing through Lake Scugog. Buying the waterfront and establishing a port on his prop- erty on Lake Scugog was the second phase of this plan. Unfortunately he died in 1851 and no further development of this idea took place. Nevertheless Peter Perry’s ideas laid the economic foundations for our community. Happy 225th Birthday Peter Perry. By Paul Arculus, Focus on Scugog