Historic Profiles

of Queen's University, the Faculty of Law and City of Kingston

Queen’s University

Queen’s University was established by Royal Charter granted by Queen Victoria in 1841, pre-dating the founding of Canada by 26 years.

In 2007, Queen’s University tied for second in Canada in the Medical/Doctoral category (the top tier of Canadian universities) in the Macleans’ University Rankings; placed first in the Globe and Mail University Report Card; and ranked 88th in the world in the Times Higher Education Supplement rankings of the world’s universities.

Queen’s University Faculty of Law

The first Faculty of Law at Queen’s University was established in 1861; two years later it awarded the first honorary Doctor of Laws degree to Sir John A. Macdonald, who would go on to serve as Canada’s first Prime Minister. The first Dean of Law, Alexander Campbell, was also a “Father of Confederation.” This early faculty only lasted a few years. Efforts were made to revive the law school in 1880, but after awarding a number of LL.B. degrees the law school closed again, largely because the Law Society of Upper Canada refused to recognize university law degrees.

The modern law school was founded in 1957 with William Lederman, the pre-eminent Canadian constitutional law scholar of his era, as its first dean.

In 2007, the Faculty celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of this founding and the law school’s tradition of educating leading members of the Canadian and international legal community. Notable for its commitment to community and academic excellence, Queen’s Law continues to be a unique institution in the Canadian legal academic environment. An example of the Faculty’s innovative programming is the Global Law Program, the only Canadian legal study abroad program, held at the Queen’s University campus at Herstmonceux Castle in Sussex, England.

Historic Kingston, Ontario

Kingston is located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, where the lake runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin. In 1673, settlers from France established Fort Cataraqui, later to be called Fort Frontenac, in the Kingston region. During the War of 1812, Kingston was the base for the Lake Ontario division of the Great Lakes British naval fleet. After the war, Britain built Fort Henry and a series of distinctive Martello towers to guard the entrance to the Rideau Canal. In 2007, the Rideau Canal and the Fort Henry fortifications at Kingston were designated by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site. Kingston was also the original capital of the United Canadas—Upper Canada (now the Province of Ontario) and Lower Canada (now the Province of Quebec)—from 1841 to 1844, and hosted the first meeting of the Parliament on June 13, 1841. The capital was later moved north to Ottawa, in part to protect it against ongoing armed conflict between Canada and the United States.

Kingston was the long-time home of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald; as a lawyer, he advocated many famed cases in this city. In honour of its relationship to this Prime Minister, the Queen’s University Faculty of Law is housed in Macdonald Hall on Union Street, designated to symbolize the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada in 1841.

Kingston is called the Limestone City, as many of its distinctive historic buildings and churches were originally made from limestone. Kingston has also been called Brainiac City, as it its residents have more Ph.D. degrees per capita than any other city in Canada.