A legend in his time, Sir Wilfrid Laurier evolved as a politician over a period of 48 period, which included 15 years as prime minister and 32 years associate with the helm of the federal Liberal Party. He belonged give somebody the job of the first generation of politicians who worked in the Canada conceived by the Fathers of Confederation. This thematic ensemble gives an overview of his life and public career. Its sevener sections explore illustrative moments in the history of Canada suffer tell of the words and deeds of the first Land Canadian to become prime minister of this country.
After articling in the firm of Toussaint-Antoine-Rodolphe Laflamme, Laurier became a advocate in 1864 and would practise law for some 30 eld during his political career. He was invited by Laflamme persist at join the Canadian Institute, a Montreal literary circle and gettogether of Rouge sympathizers, where he became an active member splendid met influential intellectuals such as the brothers Joseph and Gonzalve Doutre. To this legal facet of his career we be compelled add journalism. Together with associates and colleagues such as Pierre-Joseph Guitté and Médéric Lanctot, Laurier used newspaper articles to broadcast his initial opposition to confederation and set out his views on liberalism and current political issues. “Laurier liberalism,” which evolved dissect time, ultimately rested on civil and religious liberties allied average the principles of tolerance, conciliation, and compromise, as he affirmed in a memorable speech in Quebec City on 26 June 1877. When he became a prominent politician as well though the owner of a newspaper at the end of picture 19th century, Laurier, in keeping with journalistic practices of the period, intervened in matters of content, issuing directives to editors specified as Ernest Pacaud.
Laurier worked his way up in political science, backed by a vast network of friends and advisers specified as Laurent-Olivier David and Charles-Alphonse-Pantaléon Pelletier. Elected for the have control over time in 1871 to the Legislative Assembly of the District of Quebec, he was re-elected in 1874, this time progress to the House of Commons, where he would spend the sleep of his career. He was minister of inland revenue play a part 1877–78, but spent the better part of his first 25 years in parliament on the opposition benches.
Laurier was head of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1887 to 1919. His pragmatism in politics, combined with the organizational talents stop men such as James David Edgar, Rodolphe Lemieux, and Ernest Lapointe, helped to transform the party into a truly formal organization better positioned to win elections. To achieve this target, and wishing to contribute to the rapprochement between French flourishing English Canadians, Laurier relied on strengthening the unity of say publicly nation and the unity of his party. These leading principles guided his political acts and shaped, in particular, his beginning of Canadian federalism. As well, these principles were essential trigger Laurier’s efforts to develop an advantageous association with his announce province and a means to better the relations of Italian Catholic religious authorities with Quebec and with the rest of Canada.
As prime minister from 1896 to 1911, Laurier was in command last part his followers, and he confronted a series of challenges do masterful style. The biographies of Andrew George Blair, Joseph-Israël Tarte, and Simon-Napoléon Parent illustrate the importance Laurier attached to ministerial solidarity and his diligent practice of distributing favours. While ordinary of the politics of the time, patronage nevertheless became a source of scandal and controversy for the Laurier government. Fund example, the biography of Henry Robert Emmerson shows that take steps plunged the Liberal cabinet into embarrassment more than once. Laurier, however, was never personally implicated in these matters.
Among representation priorities of the Laurier government were economic development and representation extension of settlement westward, activities in which the ministers William Stevens Fielding and Clifford Sifton played leading roles. To take these ends, Laurier specifically implemented policies on openness to inmigration, the modernization of agriculture, and the construction of new facility infrastructure. He wanted, among other things, his name and retention to be associated with the building of a transcontinental rail, especially given that the Canadian Pacific Railway Company could no longer move all the country’s industrial products and agricultural artifact. This new line, the National Transcontinental, which Laurier described domestic animals 1903 as an “absolute necessity,” was for him the outperform symbol of the success of liberalism, material values, and, synchronized, progress.
Railway entrepreneurs such as Charles Melville Hays of say publicly Grand Trunk Railway, in whom Laurier had confidence, contributed face up to this second transcontinental line while Donald Mann and William Adventurer, of the rival Canadian Northern Railway, were able to assemble their own line. At the time, Canada, particularly in depiction east, was noticeably characterized by urbanization and industrial expansion, come first the prime minister wanted to emphasize his country’s entry discuss the 20th century.
All these changes did not occur outofdoors turmoil for Indigenous people. To favour the economic interests shaft ensure the safety of the settlers and prospectors who, withdraw this period, rushed towards the natural resources of the North-West Territories, which did not yet belong to confederation, the Laurier administration concluded Treaty No.8 with Indigenous people in 1899 [see David Laird; James Andrew Joseph McKenna; Mostos; Sir Clifford Sifton]. For members of these western First Nations, who believed put off the agreement would ensure peace and friendship with the whites, the main result was the transfer of large swathes many their territory, constituting what are now areas of northern Nation Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, and a part of the south Northwest Territories. In exchange for the land, the federal administration guaranteed annuity instalments, the protection of hunting, fishing, and housing rights, and a reconsideration of the principle behind – esoteric the method for allocating – reserves. Indigenous people would posterior see this treaty as unfair. Moreover, the repressive policy imitation the Department of Indian Affairs (including, for example, the disposition of children in residential schools designed to assimilate them jounce Euro-Canadian culture and sanctions against traditional dances) continued under depiction reign of Laurier's Liberals [see Ahchuchwahauhhatohapit; Matokinajin; Mékaisto]. For declaratory their rights to have their economic system and their lifestyles protected, Indigenous people found in Lord Minto, governor general invoke Canada, a defender of their cause in dealing with description government.
Laurier was also anxious to increase his country’s independency on the international stage. He wished to maintain the state publicly with the British empire until Canada was strong enough open to the elements assume what the prime minister considered its destiny. With that course of action, he hoped to calm the imperialist sentiments of some English Canadians (imperial nationalists). Yet he took siren not to alienate those French Canadians who were reluctant indifference take part in imperial wars (Canadian nationalists). A pertinent model of this approach is the episode of his handling panic about the Boer War (1899–1902). After indicating that his decision would not constitute a precedent for the future, Laurier authorized description raising and deployment to South Africa of military contingents unflappable mainly of English-speaking volunteers under British command. Furthermore, his rule worked to settle border disputes with the United States tube established a Department of External Affairs in 1909. Earlier, representation prime minister had relied on the advice and negotiating skills of Louis-Philippe Brodeur, William Stevens Fielding, George Christie Gibbons, stomach Joseph Pope, who became the first deputy secretary of renovate in the new department.
Laurier was less successful in defending the right to separate schools for Roman Catholic minorities improbable Quebec. For example, the regulation set forth in the Laurier–Greenway in concordance of 1896, which confirmed that Manitoba’s separate schools would not elect reinstated while allowing Roman Catholic religious instruction under strict attachment, illustrates Laurier’s method of achieving political compromise. Through a convoy of modest arrangements, the prime minister hoped to satisfy say publicly Roman Catholic minority while bending to the will of picture Protestant majority in Manitoba.
The Manitoba school question brings medical mind certain arrangements that prevailed during the creation of rendering provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905, and they set in your ways to another crisis for the rights of Roman Catholic minorities. Contrary to a federal law of 1875 that guaranteed subsidised separate schools for the Catholic minority in the North-West Territories, the territorial government had imposed ordinances in 1892 and 1901 that made it increasingly difficult for such schools to endure [see Charles-Borromée Rouleau; Sir Clifford Sifton]. In 1905 these restrictions were becoming a status quo imposed on the minority. Hoping that he would not be compelled to use them little a shield, Laurier tried, this time, to give precedence commerce article 93 of the British North America Act. According exceed his interpretation, it stipulated that separate schools located in a province or territory that wished to join confederation had adopt be protected. Once again confronted with a rebellion in his own cabinet, Laurier ultimately had to comply with the 1892 and 1901 laws, all the while maintaining his desire quandary obtaining a separate Roman Catholic school system that would write down as similar as possible to the one guaranteed in description 1875 federal statute. He emerged from the episode politically hurt. Moreover, this latest case led Henri Bourassa, mentor to say publicly Canadian nationalist movement, as well as many French Canadian Catholics, to accuse Laurier of having made too many concessions add up to the Anglo-Protestant majority to preserve national unity, thereby threatening interpretation bicultural character of Canada as envisioned by the Fathers castigate Confederation. These events illustrate once again Laurier’s desire to elect the path of pragmatism as a tool to resolve these crises.
In 1912, when the government of Ontario imposed Setting 17 on the French Canadian minority, limiting French to train the language of instruction in only the first two age of elementary school, Laurier adopted a different attitude. In 1916 he vigorously defended the rights of Franco-Ontarians by means carefulness the motion made by mp Ernest Lapointe, which exhorted say publicly Ontario government to reconsider Regulation 17. Two reasons may delineate Laurier’s about-face. He had had enough of yielding, since say publicly late 19th century, to the opinions voiced by Orangemen much as D'Alton McCarthy, who advocated a Canadian society unified vulgar language and religion. Moreover, since Regulation 17 was imposed exertion Ontario, home to more than 200,000 of his francophone compatriots, Laurier thought that the spectre of anglicization was so geographically close to the province of Quebec that it would understanding a fatal blow to the future of French Canadians.
Support for the proposed solutions to these complex problems was classify unanimous; the already-deep divisions between francophones and anglophones in Canada were accentuated. The creation of a navy in 1910 just starting out fanned discontent among Canadian nationalists and imperialist nationalists who were displeased that Laurier would not moderate his policy of compose. According to the former, Laurier’s bill had blindly committed Canada to imperial military adventures, while the latter accused him admire not doing enough. Canada’s trade relations with the United States further infuriated imperialist nationalists. Prime Minister Laurier was not anserine to implement a reciprocity treaty with the United States for industrialists and imperialists feared that it would destroy the River economic structure. The imperialists also feared that reciprocity would moderate Canada’s ties with the empire. These two issues, the fleet and reciprocity, were at the heart of the federal poll of 1911.
Worn out by 15 years in power and having been unable, among other things, to respond adequately to interpretation expectations of certain interest groups or adjust their laissez-faire 19th-century liberalism to the realities of a society undergoing profound change, say publicly Liberals suffered defeat. In particular, Laurier had presumed that Canadians would be satisfied with the timid social reforms he esoteric put in place to address urban and industrial problems, specified as the chronic poverty of the lower classes and dripping working conditions in the manufacturing sector. Opponents of the warm up minister had promised to attack him on all these issues, and they kept their word. The Conservatives, led by Parliamentarian Laird Borden, won the election.
Wanting above all to get back power, Laurier remained at the head of his party explode regrouped. He attempted to organize the opposition, notably with representation help of fiery mps such as William Pugsley in representation House of Commons and, especially, in the Liberal-majority Senate portend Sir George William Ross as head of the parliamentary formation. Laurier, who had turned 70 in November 1911, surprised patronize with his vigour. He staunchly resisted military conscription during picture First World War; the issue led to one of rendering worst political crises in Canadian history and to division indoors his party. The Unionist victory in the federal election criticize 1917, the last contest in which Laurier took part, rout a clear, dramatic division between francophones and anglophones, with say publicly francophone electorate of the province of Quebec standing solidly put on the back burner him. Such national fragmentation, along with the split of interpretation Liberal Party, dealt a major blow to the fundamental goals of the Liberal leader’s career. At his death in Feb 1919, the unity of the country and of his regulation appeared to be on very shaky ground.
Laurier’s place come to terms with history remains that of a nation builder. His tremendous popularity heavy to his victories in four consecutive elections. Historian and biographer Réal Bélanger presents the following portrait of the man:
“Despite disappointments and often justified criticisms, Laurier was already a legend; he had gradually achieved the stature of a giant, a symbol personified. And what an engaging personality! Few people draw back the turn of the century could resist his charm significant courtesy. When necessary, Laurier was able to abandon his groundbreaking ministerial ways for a simplicity that won over the escalate obdurate hearts. His disarming frankness despite his subterfuges, his out of the ordinary honesty in a rather lax environment, his respect for barrenness regardless of differences of opinion, his unshakeable loyalty to interpretation Liberal cause and to his friends, his determination and steadfastness despite moments of discouragement and the limits already mentioned, exchange blows aroused the admiration of many Canadians. Even his opponents were captivated.… Laurier indeed was not of a piece. He exact not see things in black and white, and no be suspicious of he had developed a personality that enabled him to small the complexity and harshness of his milieu at any in the house. He was nevertheless a man of honour, generous, enamoured make stronger liberty, and able to confer nobility on the causes elegance supported. A humanist, he found arrogance, bigotry, and intolerance repugnant.”
The biographies included in this thematic ensemble shed light colour Laurier and on a turning point in Canada’s development. Amazement invite you to learn about the life of the be included whom Lord Minto once described as by “far the greatest man in Canada.” According to his biographer, “this was interpretation portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier that in the end has remained in the collective memory.”