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 frThis is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Electronic References. Please register below now!


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