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Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Sir Wilfrid Laurier By Ritchie Rocha The first French Canadian to become prime minister of Canada was Wilfrid Laurier. Although French was his native tongue, he became a master of the English language. This and his picturesque personality made him popular throughout Canada, and he led the young country in a 15-year period of great development. Wilfrid Laurier was born in St-Lin, Quebec, and studied law at McGill University. After three years in the Quebec legislature, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1874. There he rose rapidly to leadership. Although he was a French Canadian and a Roman Catholic, he was chosen leader of the Liberal party in 1887. Nine years later he became prime minister. He was knighted in 1897. "Build up Canada" were the watchwords of Laurier's government. Laurier was loyal to Great Britain, sent Canadian volunteers to help in the Boer War, established a tariff favorable to British goods, and worked to strengthen the ties between the two countries. But he saw the British Empire as a worldwide alliance of free and equal nations, and he opposed every attempt to limit Canada's freedom. Laurier's liberal immigration policy brought hundreds of thousands of settlers to the western provinces. He reduced postal rates, promoted the building of railroads needed for national expansion, and appointed a commission to regulate railroad rates. After 15 years in office his government was defeated, presumably on the issue of reciprocal trade with the United States. Laurier believed, however, that his political defeat was caused primarily by opponents in Ontario who considered him too partial to Roman Catholic interests in Quebec. Prior to World War I, Laurier tried forcefully to support the formation of a Canadian navy. His own Liberal party defeated this measure, however, and Canada entered the war without a fleet of its own. During the early years of World War I, Laurier supported the war policy of Sir Robert Borden's Conservative government. In 1917 he refused to join a coalition government that was formed to uphold conscription. Laurier felt that he could not back a measure so unpopular in the province of Quebec. Wilfrid Laurier's regime lasted 15 years. It was one of renewed growth and prosperity. The Manitoba School Question was promptly hushed up by new legislation enacted by the province in accordance with a compromise worked out with Ottawa. To his Cabinet Laurier drew some of the most capable leaders from every part of Canada. Business throughout the world was on an upswing, and the Laurier government was determined to get in on the action. The demand for Canadian wheat abroad encouraged immigration, and immigration in turn increased farm production and the value of national exports. "The 20th century belongs to Canada," cried Laurier; and the whole nation took confidence from his assurance. Two new transcontinental railways were begun. By 1905 the west had expanded in both population and economic strength to such an extent that two new provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, were carved out of the Northwest Territories. These encouraging developments were inadvertently assisted by an occurrence in the far northwest. Since the Fraser River gold strike of 1858, prospectors had been consistently combing the mountainous areas of British Columbia and to the north. In 1896 their persistence paid off with the discovery of gold nuggets on the Klondike River in the far western Yukon Territory. When the news spread, the gold rush of 1897 began; it was to become the most publicized gold rush in history, eventually to be celebrated in the works of such writers as Jack London and Robert Service. The gold strike had some beneficial side effects. As miners poured into western Canada from the United States and other parts of the world, the extent of the unpopulated prairie lands became known. By this time, of course, the supply of free land in the United States had become exhausted, and the frontier was closed. Very so... This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Academic Library. Please register below now!
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