After a few years at the local elementary school, Laurier was sent to New Glasgow, a nearby town, to learn English. It was during these years that Laurier became involved in politics, supporting the Liberal party or "parti rouge", as it was known in Quebec. It was not an easy platform to support in Quebec at that time; the clergy fiercely condemned "les rouges," and the rival "parti bleu" dominated the provincial government.
Laurier won a seat in the legislature as a Liberal member in , but resigned in That same year, he was elected to the House of Commons.
His spirited defence of Louis Riel in brought his oratorical abilities to the attention of the party, and when Liberal leader Edward Blake resigned in , Laurier succeeded him. During the election of , the Liberal platform of unrestricted reciprocity with the United States proved unpopular, and the Conservatives won again.
Macdonald later the same year, the collapse of the Conservative party began. The Manitoba Schools Question hastened the process, and Laurier simply bided his time. After 18 years of Conservative Tory government, the nation voted Liberal in the election and Laurier became Canada's first Francophone prime minister. National unity was of supreme importance to Laurier. He had seen how divisive the issues of Riel and the Manitoba schools had been, and he sought to reconcile the interests of French and English Canada with his policies.
Laurier was a great admirer of the principles of British liberalism, and felt they offered the means by which Canadians of all ancestries could live in one nation. But at all times his dedication to Canadian unity took precedence over his esteem for British tradition.
Although Laurier had indicated that, in the tradition of former Liberal leaders Alexander Mackenzie and Edward Blake, he did not wish a knighthood; however, preparations to knight him had already been made.
To avoid appearing rude, he accepted. There was an ulterior motive in the extravagant welcome Laurier received in Britain. Anxious to re-establish control over the foreign policy and defence of their colonies, the British were hoping that Laurier would acquiesce and convince others to follow. Wilfrid Laurier studied law at McGill University. While there, he established close ties with radical members of the Parti Rouge. This included one of his professors, Toussaint-Antoine-Rodolphe Laflamme.
Laurier also became vice-president —66 of the Institut canadien ; a literary society with Rouge links. After graduating from McGill in , Laurier briefly practiced law in Montreal. He argued that the federal government would have too much power and that French Canadians would be overwhelmed.
Earlier, he had embraced radical liberalism ; but now he became more moderate. He hoped this would be more acceptable to the Catholic clergy. Like many other Liberals, Laurier also decided to accept Confederation as a fait accompli and to work within the new system. In , he resigned his provincial seat and ran for election to the House of Commons. He held his seat in Ottawa uninterrupted for some 45 years.
Laurier was the most prominent Liberal from his province. He became the recognized leader of the Quebec wing of the party.
In , Edward Blake was disappointed by the recent electoral defeat. He chose Laurier to succeed him as leader of the Liberal Party , despite the opposition of various eminent Liberals. They believed Laurier was too easygoing and too physically weak to be an effective leader. Laurier suffered from chronic bronchitis for much of his life. They also feared that Ontarians would associate him with Riel, and that Catholic clergy in Quebec still viewed him as a radical. From on, Laurier devoted himself to building a truly national party and to gradually regaining power.
His efforts were divided into two distinct phases. In the first and less successful, —91, he pursued the policy of unrestricted reciprocity with the United States. Announced in , the program was rejected in the general election. Laurier was perceived as a continentalist and as anti-British. He was rejected by the Canadian electorate; but for the first time since , Liberals won a majority of the seats in Quebec. The second more fruitful phase took place between and This was the period when Laurier, more sure of himself, built a strong national Liberal Party.
At the time, the Conservatives were mired in difficulties after the death of Sir John A. In , Laurier organized an impressive political convention in Ottawa; there, the party approved a new program and the basis for a truly national structure.
In the election , the education rights of the Catholic minority in Manitoba became an important issue. In , Manitoba Liberals had established a uniform school system in place of the separate school system enjoyed to that point.
This prompted protest from the Catholic minority. See Manitoba Schools Question. Laurier avoided taking a definite stand; but French Canadians believed he would be more supportive of minority rights than the Conservatives. Contrary to the expectations of many French Canadians, Laurier did not champion the minority rights of Catholics in Manitoba. In , he signed the Laurier-Greenway agreement. This group would never again have the separate schools it enjoyed prior to ; although it would be possible to obtain religious instruction during the last half-hour of the school day and instruction in a language other than English.
This approach kept him in power for many years. But it never completely redressed the wrongs committed against the Catholic minority. Laurier adopted a similar approach to relations with Britain. Shortly after becoming prime minister, he began to reorganize the immigration system with Clifford Sifton. With William Fielding , he finalized the details of a tariff policy based on imperial preference.
In , Laurier went to London, England, to participate in his first colonial conference. He also received a knighthood. See also Commonwealth. This conciliatory stance was criticized by French Canadians who were fiercely opposed to any participation. The son of a farmer, he was sent to the nearby town of new Glasgow at a young age to learn English.
He delivered the valedictory address for his class in and made his first of many speeches appealing for sympathy and union between the French and English. He embarked on a law career in Montreal, however ill health, which he believed to be tuberculosis but turned out to be chronic bronchitis, caused him to move in In he married Zoe Lafontaine.
In Arthabaska Regional County he was elected alderman, mayor, and in , county warden. In Laurier won a seat as a liberal member, as was the Minister of Inland Revenue for one year. He resigned in and was elected to the House of Commons the same year.
When Liberal leader Edward Blake resigned in , Laurier succeeded him. In , after eighteen years with a Conservative government the Liberals won, and Laurier became the first francophone prime minister of Canada.
After defeating Charles Tupper in he compromised on the Manitoba Schools Question — the issue of education rights of the Catholic minority in Manitoba — with the Laurier-Greenway agreement, which said religious instruction could be obtained during the last half-hour of the school day in a language other than English.
During his second term in , Laurier revealed a decision to construct a second transcontinental railway, with the Grand Trunk Pacific constructing a line from Winnipeg westward and the government building the National Transcontinental section from Moncton and Quebec to Winnipeg. Laurier saw through the creation of two new provinces in — Saskatchewan and Alberta — where he once again gave in to the popular belief that the Catholic minority should not have the right to separate schools.
In —11 he passed two more unpopular bills: the Naval Service Act, establishing a Canadian navy, and a reciprocity bill, providing free trade and reduced duty on several natural resources to the United States.
0コメント