The Report was highly controversial. In Upper Canada it was rejected by the dominant Tory elite, while out-of-power reformers welcomed the ideal of responsible government. In Lower Canada, anglophone Tories were supportive because it would enable them to remain in power. French Canadians were opposed to a union that threatened their nationality. The "Report" led to major reforms and democratic advances. The two Canadas were subsequently merged into a single colony, the Province of Canada, in the 1840 "Act of Union". It moved Canada slowly on the path to "responsible government" (that is, self-government), which took a decade. In the long run, it advanced democracy and played a central role in the evolution of Canada’s political independence from Britain.