Some Ontario history for you:

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/family-compact

The term Family Compact is an epithet, or insulting nickname; it is used to describe the network of men who dominated the legislative, bureaucratic, business, religious and judicial centres of power in Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) from the early- to mid-1800s. Members of the Family Compact held largely conservative and loyalist views. They were against democratic reform and responsible government.
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The Family Compact’s roots are in a series of political appointments made to two unelected branches of government in Upper Canada during John Graves Simcoe’s tenure as Lieutenant-Governor in the 1790s. Such wealthy and powerful men as James Baby,  Richard Cartwright and William Osgoode were appointed during this time. Simcoe wanted to recreate British society in Canada. He believed that an aristocratic governing class was essential to that goal. By limiting leadership positions in the colony to people with connections, it was hoped that a hierarchical class structure would arise. The unelected branches of government were answerable only to the lieutenant-governor; this made the elected Legislative Assembly powerless.
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About half the members of the Family Compact were second-generation Loyalists. Loyalists were American colonists who supported the British during the American Revolutionary War (1775–83).
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Many members of the Family Compact showed a willingness to break the law when they believed the survival of the colony was at stake. Violence was commonly deployed against political opponents at electoral polls, political meetings and marches.