Horton High School's Canadian History 12
Web Page and Student Resource

The Laurier Era, 1896-1911:
The Age of Nation Building

• much mention has already been given about Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister. His administrations went from 1867-1873 and 1878-1891. During this time, Canada was united as a country, the largest national railway in the world was laid [the CPR] and an internal crisis under the leadership of Louis Riel was put down. Macdonald was a savvy politician, who used the back rooms more often than the floor of the Commons to get his plans in motion. Scandals followed Macdonald, especially the "CPR Scandal" which led to his first downfall, however through it all he seemed to come back ready for another fight. This, despite family tragedies which placed enormous stress on his ability to lead.
• from 1873-1878, Macdonald was replaced by the Liberal, Alexander Mackenzie. Mackenzie attempted to change many of Macdonald's policies, namely his massive loans to the CPR, however he was unable to stop the "machine" which was already in motion. His leadership was one of general inactivity, which led to the triumphant return of Macdonald until 1891. In that year, Macdonald had won another substantial victory, however he celebrated in his deathbed. Two months later, in May of 1891, Macdonald was dead. The young and energetic Liberal leader, Wilfrid Laurier, flowered praise on the fallen Father of Confederation.
• what followed until 1896 was a succession of inept or short-lived Conservative Prime Ministers, four to be exact, who did much to usher in the "Laurier Era" due to their general lack of vision and passion. These leaders were John Abbott [91-92], Sir John Thompson [92-94], Sir Mackenzie Bowell [94-96] and Sir Charles Tupper [96].

• Laurier became P.M. when he was 55 years of age, a man of wisdom indeed, yet he possessed a passion few before him exhibited. He led the refreshed Liberals with a new vision for Canada, one which placed the goals of Canada ahead of those of the Empire. He has been criticized by some for this, feeling that he rushed Canada too quickly from the protection of the British, thus in turn hurling us towards our American neighbours. Others argue he was the first great Canadian Prime Minister, or, at the least, an equal to Macdonald in stature and importance.
• Laurier was Canada's first French-Canadian P.M. and its second Catholic [Thompson had converted to Catholicism].
• Laurier tended to bounce groups off each other, thus leaving himself free to govern. He angered the Catholic Church many times, while also frustrating Protestant Orangemen for his occasional anti-British views. Regardless of the controversies which developed under his leadership, there is little doubt as to his enormous importance.

1.    Promoted reciprocity [Free Trade] with the Americans and British.
2.    Manitoba Schools Question: when he came to power, the schools in Manitoba were
       administered by the churches, thus giving the Catholic Church more control over
       the people of Manitoba. He fought this, despite a personal plea from the Pope himself.
       Laurier chose to give Protestants the right to school their own people, thus taking
       control, and money, away from the Catholics. This angered the French, yet made
       him allies in English Canada.
3.    Encouraged Settlement of the West by East European farmers; led by his Minister of
       the Interior, Clifford Sifton [future Lord Dufferin].
4.    Railway Expansion: expanded two new lines into the interior of Canada.
5.    Development of Natural Resources: through the growth of rail and immigration,
       Laurier expanded the growth of resource based industries, ,making Canada much
       money.
6.    Growing Independence from Britain: fought to develop a national identity.
7.    War Policy: balanced national pride with a need to keep ties to Britain. This was
       evident during the Boer War [South Africa] from 1899-1902. Canada sent troops in
       support of the British war effort against the Boers. Quebec was not happy with this.
8.    Alaska Boundary Dispute: 1898-1903. Canada and the U.S. fought over the control of
       parts of Alaska, which were rich with gold. A Committee was put together to end the
       dispute, comprised of an American, Canadian and British diplomat. The American and
       Canadian sided with their own countries, leaving the British diplomat, Lord Alverstone,
       to decide. Laurier was confident, however the British, wanting to better relations with the
       Americans, chose to side with the American claim. This enraged Laurier, which would
       cloud his judgment from that point onward.
9.    The Navy Question [1909]: Britain was in an Arms Race with the French and Germans,
       thus they requested funds from its Dominions in order to enhance its already impressive
       navy. They, in turn, guaranteed protection to all Dominions at a moment's notice. Against
       the howls of opposition and some of his own Members, Laurier chose another path: to
       build a Canadian navy. This would be introduced to the Commons in 1910, called the
       "Navy Services Bill", which proposed the construction of a Canadian navy. The leader
       of the Tories, Robert Borden, was enraged, and saw this as a slap in Britain's face,
       which it was. This would be a major issue in the 1911 federal election. The Bill passed
       however in doing so he may well have committed political suicide.

The 1911 Election:
 

• two main issues existed during the 1911 federal election: free trade and the naval issue. Laurier wanted to break down trade boundaries between Canada and the U.S., while Borden argued Canada needed to be more protectionist in its dealings with the Americans. As to the naval issue, Borden played this issue two ways, by saying that Laurier was being anti-British while also drawing Canada into the imminent European conflict due to having its own fleet.
• Laurier, now 70, chose to stand on his record. He had been knighted, supposedly against his wishes [he was said to accept the knighthood for the good of Canada], and he used this to show his loyalties to the British. Still, Borden's pro-British views were clearly more sincere. Borden defeated Laurier, ending an era of enormous significance in Canada's history. The next stage, "Canada at War", will take Canada one step further in its evolution as a nation.