Transcript Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier
7 th Prime Minister of Canada July 11, 1896 ~ October 5, 1911
Background
► Born in Canada East, Laurier was born into a French family with Liberal ideals ► Studied in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia at the age of 11 to learn the British ways ► After graduating from McGill with a law degree, Laurier ran the newspaper Le Défricheur The newspaper supported the Parti Rouge, a radical left wing party
Early Political Career
► In 1874 Laurier was elected into the House of Commons as a Liberal member ► Served as Minister of Inland Revenue during Alexander MacKenzie’s short reign ► Defended Louis Riel in 1885 ► Laurier became the leader of the Liberal party in 1887
Path to Prime Minister
► With the death of John A. MacDonald, Charles Tupper became the leader of the Conservative Party ► Unable to bring a solution the Manitoba Schools Question, the Conservative Party was split in two ► In the election of 1896 Wilfrid Laurier and his Liberal Party beat Tupper and his Conservative Party
Accomplishments
► Introduced Canada to a period of economic growth ► Solved the Manitoba Schools Question ► Fought for French speaking Canadians and the Catholic Church ► Won the most consecutive elections ever ► Oversaw the creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan
Fall From Grace
► Naval Service Act ► Alaska Boundary Dispute ► Boer War Dispute ► Reciprocity
The Aftermath
► ► ► Lost to Borden’s Conservative party in 1911 Served as the Opposition leader until his death in 1919 50,000 people lined the streets of Ottawa to watch Laurier’s funeral procession
My $0.02 on Laurier
► One of the greatest Prime Ministers Canada has ever had ► It seemed like Laurier had the interests of Quebec before the interests of Canada ► Helped Canada gain independence from Britain
Bibliography
► ► ► "Laurier, Sir Wilfrid." The Canadian Encyclopedia . N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2010.