Misplaced Pages

#346653

168-414: The scandal led to the resignation of Canada's first prime minister, John A. Macdonald , and a transfer of power from his Conservative government to a Liberal government , led by Alexander Mackenzie . One of the new government's first measures was to introduce secret ballots in an effort to improve the integrity of future elections. After the scandal broke, the railway plan collapsed, and the proposed line

336-588: A confidence vote could be scheduled. When parliament resumed on January 28, 2009, the Ignatieff Liberals agreed to support the budget as long as it included regular accountability reports, which the Conservatives accepted. This ended the possibility of the coalition government with the New Democrats. Ignatieff was formally named leader on May 2, 2009 . By the time Ignatieff was confirmed as party leader,

504-664: A Canadian welfare state . The Liberals' signature policies and legislative decisions include universal health care , the Canada Pension Plan , Canada Student Loans , the establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy , multilateralism , official bilingualism , official multiculturalism , gun control , the patriation of the Constitution of Canada and the establishment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ,

672-634: A Pacific outlet. The colony had an extremely large debt that would have to be assumed should it join Confederation. Negotiations were conducted in 1870, principally during Macdonald's illness and recuperation, with Cartier leading the Canadian delegation. Cartier offered British Columbia a railway linking it to the eastern provinces within ten years. The British Columbians, who privately had been prepared to accept far less generous terms, quickly agreed and joined Confederation in 1871. The Canadian Parliament ratified

840-574: A blow to the head by a servant charged with taking care of the boys. After Hugh's store failed, the family moved to Hay Bay (south of Napanee, Ontario ), west of Kingston, where Hugh unsuccessfully ran another shop. In 1829, his father was appointed as a magistrate for the Midland District . John Macdonald's mother was a lifelong influence on her son, helping him in his difficult first marriage and remaining influential in his life until her 1862 death. Macdonald initially attended local schools. When he

1008-461: A broad spectrum of voters. The Liberal Party is the longest-serving and oldest active federal political party in the country, and has dominated federal politics of Canada for much of its history, holding power for almost 70 years of the 20th century. As a result, it has sometimes been referred to as Canada's "natural governing party". The party first came into power in 1873 under Alexander Mackenzie , but were voted out five years later due to

1176-541: A central coordinating organization, the National Liberal Federation, was created in 1932 with Vincent Massey as its first president. With the Liberal return to power, the national organization languished except for occasional national committee meetings, such as in 1943 when Mackenzie King called a meeting of the federation (consisting of the national caucus and up to seven voting delegates per province) to approve

1344-631: A confederation if the details could be successfully negotiated. In October 1864, delegates for Confederation met in Quebec City for the Quebec Conference , where they agreed to the Seventy-Two Resolutions , the basis of Canada's government. The Great Coalition was endangered by Taché's 1865 death; Lord Monck asked Macdonald to become premier, but Brown felt that he had as good a claim on the position as his coalition partner. The disagreement

1512-403: A confidence vote on November 28, and Martin advised Governor General Michaëlle Jean to dissolve Parliament and call an election for January 2006 . The Liberal campaign was dogged from start to finish by the sponsorship scandal, which was brought up by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) criminal investigation into the leak of the income trust announcement. Numerous gaffes, contrasting with

1680-499: A divided conservative opposition for the past three elections, Liberals were seriously challenged by competition from the newly united Conservative Party led by Stephen Harper . The infighting between Martin and Chrétien's supporters also dogged the party. Nonetheless, by criticizing the Conservatives' social policies, the Liberals were able to draw progressive votes from the NDP, which made

1848-477: A high approval rating and Martin was expected to make inroads into Quebec and Western Canada, two regions of Canada where the Liberals had not attracted much support since the 1980s and 1990s, respectively. The political situation changed with the revelation of the sponsorship scandal , in which advertising agencies supporting the Liberal Party received grossly inflated commissions for their services. Having faced

SECTION 10

#1732829110347

2016-490: A key policy for the party in the 2008 federal election , but it was not well received and was continuously attacked by both the Conservatives and NDP. On election night, the Liberal Party won 26.26 percent of the popular vote and 77 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons. At that time, their popular support was the lowest in the party's history, and weeks later Dion announced he would step down as Liberal leader once his successor

2184-624: A lasting animosity between Chrétien and Martin. Chrétien won on the first ballot. Chrétien's Liberals campaigned in the 1993 election on the promise of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and eliminating the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Just after the writ was dropped for the election, they issued the Red Book , an integrated and coherent approach to economic, social, environmental and foreign policy. This

2352-522: A lawyer, hoping to gain his former employer's clients. Macdonald's parents and sisters also returned to Kingston. Soon after Macdonald was called to the Bar in February 1836, he arranged to take in two students; both became, like Macdonald, Fathers of Confederation . Oliver Mowat became premier of Ontario, and Alexander Campbell a federal cabinet minister and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario . One early client

2520-655: A less costly route passing south through Wisconsin and Minnesota . However, a route across the Canadian Shield was highly unpopular with potential investors not only in the United States but also in Canada and especially in Great Britain, the only other viable sources of financing. For would-be investors, the objections were not primarily based on politics or nationalism but economics. At the time, national governments lacked

2688-553: A literary career. Macdonald's parents decided he should become a lawyer after leaving school. As Donald Creighton (who penned a two-volume biography of Macdonald in the 1950s) wrote, "law was a broad, well-trodden path to comfort, influence, even to power". It was also "the obvious choice for a boy who seemed as attracted to study as he was uninterested in trade." Macdonald needed to start earning money immediately to support his family because his father's businesses were failing. "I had no boyhood," he complained many years later. "From

2856-466: A minority government and St. Laurent resigned as prime minister and Liberal leader. Lester B. Pearson was easily elected Liberal leader at the party's 1958 leadership convention . However, only months after becoming Liberal leader, Pearson led the party into the 1958 federal election that saw Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives win the largest majority government, by percentage of seats, in Canadian history. The Progressive Conservatives won 206 of

3024-415: A new platform for the party in anticipation of the end of World War II and prepare for a post-war election. No national convention was held, however, until 1948; the Liberal Party held only three national conventions prior to the 1950s – in 1893, 1919 and 1948. The National Liberal Federation remained largely dependent on provincial Liberal parties and was often ignored and bypassed the parliamentary party in

3192-412: A new position without needing to face a by-election; Macdonald and his ministers accepted new positions, then completed what was dubbed the " Double Shuffle " by returning to their old posts. In an effort to give the appearance of fairness, Head insisted that Cartier be the titular premier, with Macdonald as his deputy. In the late 1850s and early 1860s, Canada enjoyed a period of great prosperity, while

3360-402: A novelty, had not yet been introduced in Canada. Although it was illegal to offer, solicit or accept bribes in exchange for votes, effective enforcement of the prohibition proved impossible. Despite Macdonald's claims that he was innocent, evidence came to light showing receipts of money from Allan to Macdonald and some of his political colleagues. Perhaps even more damaging to Macdonald was when

3528-623: A parliamentary committee on confederation among the British North American colonies, which had reported back just before the Taché-Macdonald government fell. Brown was more interested in representation by population; Macdonald's priority was a federation that the other colonies could join. The two compromised and agreed that the new government would support the "federative principle" – a conveniently elastic phrase. The discussions were not public knowledge and Macdonald stunned

SECTION 20

#1732829110347

3696-519: A position to replace the Liberals as the natural governing party in Canada." Books such as The Big Shift by John Ibbitson and Darrell Bricker , and Peter C. Newman 's When the Gods Changed: The Death of Liberal Canada , asserted that the Liberals had become an "endangered species". On April 14, 2013, Justin Trudeau , son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was elected leader of

3864-504: A practice especially effective in the era when votes were publicly declared. Macdonald and the Conservatives saw their majority reduced from 35 to 8. The Liberals (as the Grits were coming to be known) did better than the Conservatives in Ontario, forcing the government to rely on the votes of Western and Maritime MPs who did not fully support the party. Macdonald had hoped to award the charter for

4032-581: A programme and build the campaign that successfully brought the party to power in 1896, but no efforts were made to create a formal national organization outside Parliament. As a result of the party's defeats in the 1911 and 1917 federal elections, Laurier attempted to organize the party on a national level by creating three bodies: the Central Liberal Information Office, the National Liberal Advisory Committee, and

4200-578: A progressive social policy evolved into the goal of creating a " just society ". In the late 1970s, Trudeau stated that his Liberal Party adhered to the " radical centre ". The Liberal Party under Trudeau promoted official bilingualism and passed the Official Languages Act , which gave French and English languages equal status in Canada. Trudeau hoped that the promotion of bilingualism would cement Quebec's place in Confederation, and counter growing calls for an independent Quebec. The party hoped

4368-509: A prominent young lawyer who was a well-regarded member of Kingston's rising Scottish community. Mackenzie practised corporate law, a lucrative speciality that Macdonald himself would later pursue. Macdonald was a promising student, and in the summer of 1833, managed the Mackenzie office when his employer went on a business trip to Montreal and Quebec in Lower Canada (today the southern portion of

4536-582: A scandal in which his party took bribes from businessmen seeking the contract to build the Canadian Pacific Railway . He was reelected in 1878 . His greatest achievements were building and guiding a successful national government for the new Dominion, using patronage to forge a strong Conservative Party , promoting the protective tariff of the National Policy , and completing the railway. He fought to block provincial efforts to take power back from

4704-450: A smoothly run Conservative campaign, put Liberals as many as ten points behind the Conservatives in opinion polling. They managed to recover some of their momentum by election night, but not enough to retain power. They won 103 seats, a net loss of 30 from when the writs were dropped, compared to 123 for the Tories. Martin resigned as Liberal leader on March 18. The ensuing leadership election

4872-419: A snap election, citing favourable internal polls. However, the party was hurt by numerous patronage appointments , many of which Turner had made supposedly in return for Trudeau retiring early. Also, they were unpopular in their traditional stronghold of Quebec because of the constitution repatriation which excluded that province. The Liberals lost power in the 1984 election , and were reduced to only 40 seats in

5040-587: A three-year term as the seat of government before the Assembly moved to the permanent capital. He privately asked the Colonial Office to ensure she would not respond for at least ten months, or until after the general election. In February 1858, her choice was announced to the dismay of many legislators from both parts of the province: the isolated Canada West town of Ottawa became the capital. On 28 July 1858, an opposition Canada East member proposed an address to

5208-509: A united bloc in the legislature of the Province of Canada beginning in 1854 , but a united Liberal Party combining both English and French Canadian members was not formed until 1867. At the time of Confederation of the former British colonies of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec ), New Brunswick , and Nova Scotia , the radical Liberals were marginalized by the more pragmatic Conservative coalition assembled under Sir John A. Macdonald . In

Pacific Scandal - Misplaced Pages Continue

5376-600: Is a federal political party in Canada . The party espouses the principles of liberalism , and generally sits at the centre to centre-left of the Canadian political spectrum , with their main rival, the Conservative Party , positioned to their right and the New Democratic Party positioned to their left . The party is described as " big tent ", practising "brokerage politics", attracting support from

5544-686: The Civil Marriage Act in late June 2005 in a late-night, last-minute vote before Parliament closed down, the Senate passed it in July 2005, and it received Royal Assent on July 20. This made Canada the fourth country in the world to allow same-sex marriages. In November 2005, the Martin government brokered a deal between first ministers and aboriginal leaders known as the Kelowna Accord , which sought to improve

5712-456: The Clarity Act , legalizing same-sex marriage , euthanasia , and cannabis , national carbon pricing , and expanded access to abortion . The Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau since 2013, won a majority government in the 2015 federal election . In both the federal elections of 2019 and 2021 , the party was re-elected with a minority government. The Liberals are descended from

5880-465: The National Post , suggested that "maybe we've witnessed a revival of Canada's 'natural governing party'". At the 2019 federal election , Trudeau's Liberal Party lost 20 seats in the House of Commons (lowering its total from 177 to 157) from the time of dissolution, they still won the most seats of any party—enough seats to allow Trudeau to form a minority government. For the first time since 1979,

6048-512: The de jure political boundaries of the recently acquired Rupert's Land , and building a transcontinental railway was a national policy of high order to change that situation. Moreover, after the American Civil War the American frontier rapidly expanded west with land-hungry settlers, exacerbating talk of annexation . Indeed, sentiments of Manifest Destiny were abuzz at the time: in 1867,

6216-409: The 1949 and 1953 federal elections, St. Laurent led the Liberal Party to two large majority governments. As prime minister he oversaw the joining of Newfoundland in Confederation as Canada's tenth province, he established equalization payments to the provinces, and continued with social reform with improvements in pensions and health insurance. In 1956, Canada played an important role in resolving

6384-542: The Battle of the Windmill near Prescott, Upper Canada . Public opinion was inflamed against the prisoners, as they were accused of mutilating the body of a dead Canadian lieutenant. Macdonald could not represent the prisoners, as they were tried by court-martial and civilian counsel had no standing. At the request of Kingston relatives of Daniel George, paymaster of the ill-fated invasion, Macdonald agreed to advise George, who, like

6552-662: The British North America Act and the establishment of Canada as a nation on 1 July 1867. Macdonald was the first prime minister of the new nation, and served 19 years; only William Lyon Mackenzie King has served longer. In his first term, he established the North-West Mounted Police and expanded Canada by annexing the North-Western Territory , Rupert's Land , British Columbia , and Prince Edward Island . In 1873, he resigned from office over

6720-500: The Canadian Pacific Railway in early 1872, but negotiations dragged on between the government and the financiers. Macdonald's government awarded the Allan group the charter in late 1872. In 1873, when Parliament opened, Liberal MP Lucius Seth Huntington charged that government ministers had been bribed with large, undisclosed political contributions to award the charter. Documents soon came to light which substantiated what came to be known as

6888-486: The Conservatives ' alienation of French Canada by offering the Liberals as a credible alternative. Laurier was able to overcome the party's reputation for anti-clericalism that offended the still-powerful Quebec Roman Catholic Church . In English-speaking Canada, the Liberal Party's support for reciprocity made it popular among farmers, and helped cement the party's hold in the growing prairie provinces . Laurier led

Pacific Scandal - Misplaced Pages Continue

7056-454: The Leaders' debates when Layton criticized Ignatieff for having a poor attendance record for Commons votes: "You know, most Canadians, if they don't show up for work, they don't get a promotion." Ignatieff failed to defend himself against these charges, and the debates were said to be a turning point in the campaign. On election day, the Liberals took the biggest loss in their history. The result

7224-576: The London Conference , winning acclaim for his handling of the discussions, and courted and married his second wife, Agnes Bernard . Bernard was the sister of Macdonald's private secretary, Hewitt Bernard ; the couple first met in Quebec in 1860, but Macdonald had seen and admired her as early as 1856. In January 1867, while still in London, he was seriously burned in his hotel room when his candle set fire to

7392-836: The North-West Rebellion that resulted in Riel's execution, and the development of the residential school system designed to assimilate Indigenous children. He remains respected by others for his key role in Confederation. Historical rankings of Prime Ministers of Canada have consistently made him one of the highest-rated in Canadian history . John Alexander Macdonald was born in Ramshorn parish in Glasgow , Scotland, on 10 January (official record) or 11 (father's journal) 1815. His father Hugh, an unsuccessful merchant, had married John's mother, Helen Shaw, on 21 October 1811. John Alexander Macdonald

7560-624: The Pacific Scandal . Mackenzie subsequently won the 1874 election and served as prime minister for an additional four years. During the five years the Liberal government brought in many reforms, including the replacement of open voting by secret ballot , confining elections to one day and the creation of the Supreme Court of Canada , the Royal Military College of Canada , and the Office of

7728-483: The Pacific Scandal . The Allan-led financiers, who were secretly backed by the United States's Northern Pacific Railway , had donated $ 179,000 to the Tory election funds, they had received the charter, and Opposition newspapers began to publish telegrams signed by government ministers requesting large sums from the railway interest at the time the charter was under consideration. Macdonald had taken $ 45,000 in contributions from

7896-490: The Senate Liberal Caucus until 2019. By the time the 2015 federal election was called, the Liberals had fallen back to third place. Trudeau and his advisors mounted a campaign based on economic stimulus in the hopes of regaining the mantle of being the party that best represented change from the New Democrats. The campaign was successful, and the Liberals won the election in a dramatic fashion: with 39.5 percent of

8064-625: The Suez Crisis , and contributed to the United Nations force in the Korean War . Canada enjoyed economic prosperity during St. Laurent's premiership and wartime debts were paid off. The Pipeline Debate proved the Liberal Party's undoing. Their attempt to pass legislation to build a natural gas pipeline from Alberta to central Canada was met with fierce disagreement in the House of Commons. In 1957, John Diefenbaker 's Progressive Conservatives won

8232-473: The Treaty of Washington against a political firestorm. In the run-up to the 1872 election , Macdonald had yet to formulate a railway policy, or to devise the loan guarantees that would be needed to secure the construction. During the previous year, Macdonald had met with potential railway financiers such as Hugh Allan and considerable financial discussion took place. The greatest political problem Macdonald faced

8400-465: The province of Quebec ). Later that year, Macdonald was sent to manage the law office of a Mackenzie cousin who had fallen ill. In August 1834, George Mackenzie died of cholera . With his supervising lawyer dead, Macdonald remained at the cousin's law office in Hallowell (today Picton, Ontario ). In 1835, Macdonald returned to Kingston, and even though not yet of age nor qualified, began his practice as

8568-495: The 1851 election but were soon divided by a parliamentary scandal. In September, the government resigned, and a coalition government uniting parties from both parts of the province under Allan MacNab took power. Macdonald did much of the work of putting the government together and served as attorney general . The coalition, which came to power in 1854, became known as the Liberal-Conservatives (referred to, for short, as

SECTION 50

#1732829110347

8736-493: The 1986 review. The 1988 election was notable for Turner's strong opposition to the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement negotiated by Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Although most Canadians voted for parties opposed to free trade , the Tories were returned with a majority government, and implemented the deal. The Liberals recovered from their near-meltdown of 1984, however, winning 83 seats and ending much of

8904-434: The 265 seats in the House of Commons, while the Liberals were reduced to just 48 seats. Pearson remained Liberal leader during this time and in the 1962 election managed to reduce Diefenbaker to a minority government. In the 1963 election Pearson led the Liberal Party back to victory, forming a minority government. Pearson served as prime minister for five years, winning a second election in 1965 . While Pearson's leadership

9072-530: The 29 years after Confederation, the Liberals were consigned to opposition, with the exception of one stint in government. Alexander Mackenzie was the de facto leader of the Official Opposition after Confederation and finally agreed to become the first official leader of the Liberal Party in 1873. He was able to lead the party to power for the first time in 1873, after the Macdonald government resigned over

9240-419: The Assembly by accepting their positions, and had to face by-elections . This gave Macdonald a majority pending the by-elections, and he promptly defeated the government. Head refused Brown's request for a dissolution of the Assembly, and Brown and his ministers resigned. Head then asked Macdonald to form a government. The law allowed anyone who had held a ministerial position within the last thirty days to accept

9408-512: The Assembly by announcing that the dissolution was being postponed because of progress in negotiations with Brown – the two men were not only political rivals, but were known to hate each other. The parties resolved their differences, joining in the Great Coalition , with only the Parti rouge of Canada East, led by Jean-Baptiste-Éric Dorion , remaining apart. A conference, called by

9576-481: The Assembly. The two sections each elected 65 legislators, even though Canada West had a larger population. One of Brown's major demands was representation by population, which would lead to Canada West having more seats; this was bitterly opposed by Canada East. The American Civil War led to fears in Canada and in Britain that once the U.S. had concluded its internal warfare, they would invade Canada again. Canada

9744-497: The Auditor General ; however, the party was only able to build a solid support base in Ontario and in 1878 lost the government to Macdonald. The Liberals would spend the next 18 years in opposition. In their early history, the Liberals were the party of continentalism and opposition to imperialism . The Liberals also became identified with the aspirations of Quebecers as a result of the growing hostility of French Canadians to

9912-553: The Canadian Pacific Railway contract in return for political donations of $ 360,000. In 1873, it became known that Allan had contributed a large sum of money to the Conservative government's re-election campaign of 1872; some sources quote a sum over $ 360,000. Allan had promised to keep American capital out of the railway deal but had lied to Macdonald over this vital point, as Macdonald later discovered. The Liberal Party ,

10080-592: The Chrétien Liberals campaigned from the left, their time in power is most marked by the cuts made to many social programs, including health transfers, in order to balance the federal budget. Although Chrétien had supported the Charlottetown Accord while in opposition, in government he opposed major concessions to Quebec and other provincialist factions. In contrast to their promises during the 1993 campaign, they implemented only minor changes to NAFTA, embraced

10248-681: The Colonial Office, was scheduled for 1 September 1864, in Charlottetown , Prince Edward Island; the Maritimes were to consider a union . The Canadians obtained permission to send a delegation – led by Macdonald, Cartier, and Brown – to what became known as the Charlottetown Conference . At its conclusion, the Maritime delegations expressed a willingness to join

SECTION 60

#1732829110347

10416-425: The Conservative government survived. The attempt to force an election, just a year after the previous one, was viewed as a miscalculation, as polls showed that most Canadians did not want another election. Afterwards, popularity for Ignatieff and his party continued to fall. Over the next year and a half, with the exception of a brief period in early 2010, support for the Liberals remained below 30 percent, and behind

10584-488: The Conservatives). In 1855, George-Étienne Cartier of Canada East (today Quebec) joined the Cabinet. Until Cartier's 1873 death, he would be Macdonald's political partner. In 1856, MacNab was eased out as premier by Macdonald, who became the leader of the Canada West Conservatives. Macdonald remained as attorney general when Étienne-Paschal Taché became premier. In July 1857, Macdonald departed for Britain to promote Canadian government projects. On his return to Canada, he

10752-574: The Conservatives. Shortly after the Harper government was found to be in Contempt of Parliament over the Canadian Afghan detainee issue , Ignatieff successfully introduced a motion of no confidence against the government, beginning the 2011 election . The Liberals had considerable momentum when the writ was dropped, and Ignatieff successfully squeezed NDP leader Jack Layton out of media attention by issuing challenges to Harper for one-on-one debates. However, opponents frequently criticized Ignatieff's perceived political opportunism, particularly during

10920-424: The Conservatives. The Conservatives lost the support of French Canadians because of the role of Conservative governments in the execution of Louis Riel and their role in the Conscription Crisis of 1917 , and especially their opposition to French schools in provinces besides Quebec. It was not until Wilfrid Laurier became leader that the Liberal Party emerged as a modern party. Laurier was able to capitalize on

11088-421: The House of Commons. The Progressive Conservatives won a majority of the seats in every province, including Quebec. The 95-seat loss was the worst defeat in the party's history, and the worst defeat at the time for a governing party at the federal level. What was more, the New Democratic Party , successor to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation , won only ten fewer seats than the Liberals, and some thought that

11256-449: The Liberal Party caucus. In announcing this, Trudeau said the purpose of the unelected upper chamber is to act as a check on the power of the prime minister, but the party structure interferes with that purpose. Following this move, Liberal senators chose to keep the designation "Liberal" and sit together as a caucus, albeit not one supported by the Liberal Party of Canada. This independent group continued to refer to itself in publications as

11424-427: The Liberal Party had a comfortable lead over the governing Conservatives. Support fell over the summer as Ignatieff was characterized of "missing in action", and Ignatieff announced on August 31, 2009, that the Liberals would not support the minority Conservative government when Parliament resumed. A month later, on October 1, the Liberals put forth a non-confidence motion; however, the NDP abstained from voting and

11592-430: The Liberal Party on the first ballot, winning 80% of the vote. Following his win, support for the Liberal Party increased considerably, and the party moved into first place in public opinion polls. In response, the Conservatives ran a series of ads attempting to "[paint] him as a silly dilettante unfit for public office" and the surge levelled off in the following year. In 2014, Trudeau removed all Liberal senators from

11760-422: The Liberals argued that the Governor General of Canada should no longer be appointed on the recommendation of the British government. The decisions of the Imperial Conferences were formalized in the Statute of Westminster , which was actually passed in 1931, the year after the Liberals lost power. The Liberals also promoted the idea of Canada being responsible for its own foreign and defence policy. Initially, it

11928-447: The Liberals discovered a telegram through a former employee of Allan; it which was thought to have been stolen from the safe of Allan's lawyer, John Abbott . The scandal proved fatal to Macdonald's government . Macdonald's control of Parliament was already tenuous since the 1872 election. Since party discipline was not as strong as it is today, once Macdonald's culpability in the scandal became known, he could no longer expect to retain

12096-600: The Liberals promoted Canadian sovereignty and greater independence within the British Commonwealth . In Imperial Conferences held throughout the 1920s, Canadian Liberal governments often took the lead in arguing that the United Kingdom and the dominions should have equal status, and against proposals for an 'imperial parliament' that would have subsumed Canadian independence. After the King–Byng Affair of 1926,

12264-468: The Liberals to power in the 1896 election (in which he became the first Francophone Prime Minister) and oversaw a government that increased immigration to settle Western Canada . Laurier's government created the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta out of the North-West Territories and promoted the development of Canadian industry. Until the early part of the century, the Liberal Party

12432-455: The Macdonald house in Ottawa, together with Bernard's widowed mother. In May 1870, John Macdonald fell ill with gallstones; coupled with his frequent drinking, he may have developed a severe case of acute pancreatitis . In July, he moved to Prince Edward Island to convalesce, most likely conducting discussions aimed at drawing the island into Confederation at a time when some there supported joining

12600-633: The Maritimes and bind them closer to the rest of Canada, was not yet built. Anglo-American relations were in a poor state, and Canadian foreign relations were matters handled from London. The withdrawal of the Americans in 1866 from the Reciprocity Treaty had increased tariffs on Canadian goods in US markets. American and British opinion largely believed that the experiment of Confederation would quickly unravel, and

12768-524: The NDP under Ed Broadbent would push the Liberals to third-party status. The party began a long process of reconstruction. A small group of young Liberal MPs, known as the Rat Pack , gained fame by criticizing the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney at every turn. Also, despite public and backroom attempts to remove Turner as leader, he managed to consolidate his leadership at

12936-532: The National Liberal Organization Committee. However, the advisory committee became dominated by members of Parliament and all three bodies were underfunded and competed with both local and provincial Liberal associations and the national caucus for authority. The party did organize the national party's second convention in 1919 to elect William Lyon Mackenzie King as Laurier's successor (Canada's first leadership convention ), yet following

13104-513: The Queen informing her that Ottawa was an unsuitable place for a national capital. Macdonald's Canada East party members crossed the floor to vote for the address, and the government was defeated. Macdonald resigned, and the Governor General, Sir Edmund Walker Head , invited opposition leader George Brown to form a government. Under the law at that time, Brown and his ministers lost their seats in

13272-413: The Tories' Ontario support largely moved to the Liberals. With a divided opposition, the Liberals were able to reap large majorities—especially in Ontario, where the party won all but one seat in 1993, all but two in 1997 and all but three in 2000. However, there was some disappointment as Liberals were not able to recover their traditional dominant position in Quebec, despite being led by a Quebecer. While

13440-550: The United States. The island joined Confederation in 1873. Macdonald had once been tepid on the question of westward expansion of the Canadian provinces; as prime minister, he became a strong supporter of a bicoastal Canada. Immediately upon Confederation, he sent commissioners to London who in due course successfully negotiated the transfer of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to Canada. The Hudson's Bay Company received £300,000 ( CA$ 1,500,000 ) in compensation, and retained some trading posts as well as one-twentieth of

13608-405: The United States. Macdonald was appointed a British commissioner, a post he was reluctant to accept as he realised Canadian interests might be sacrificed for the mother country. This proved to be the case; Canada received no compensation for the raids and no significant trade advantages in the settlement, which required Canada to open her waters to American fishermen. Macdonald returned home to defend

13776-525: The Western-based Reform Party , which replaced the PCs as the largest right-wing party in Canada; however, the party was unable to overcome perceptions of extremism and that it was merely a Western protest party , and was virtually non-existent east of Manitoba. Meanwhile, the Quebec nationalists who had once supported the Tories largely switched their support to the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois , while

13944-455: The accession of Newfoundland, whose voters rejected a Confederation platform in a general election in October 1869. In 1869, John and Agnes Macdonald had a daughter, Mary. It soon became apparent that Mary had ongoing developmental issues; she was never able to walk, nor did she ever fully develop mentally. Hewitt Bernard, Deputy Minister of Justice and Macdonald's former secretary, also lived in

14112-459: The age of 15, I began to earn my own living." Macdonald travelled by steamboat to Toronto (known until 1834 as York ), where he passed an examination set by The Law Society of Upper Canada . British North America had no law schools in 1830; students were examined when beginning and ending their tutelage. Between the two examinations, they were apprenticed, or articled to established lawyers. Macdonald began his apprenticeship with George Mackenzie,

14280-615: The best farmland. Prior to the date of acquisition, the Canadian government faced unrest in the Red River Colony (today southeastern Manitoba , centred on Winnipeg ). The local people, including the Métis , were fearful that rule would be imposed on them which did not take into account their interests, and rose in the Red River Rebellion led by Louis Riel . Unwilling to pay for a territory in insurrection, Macdonald had troops put down

14448-496: The bill. The government fell over the bill, and the Grits took over under the leadership of John Sandfield Macdonald (no relation to John A. Macdonald). The parties held an almost equal number of seats, with a handful of independents able to destroy any government. The new government fell in May 1863, but Head allowed a new election, which did little to change party standings. In December 1863, Canada West MP Albert Norton Richards accepted

14616-477: The border. With Canadians fearing invasion from the U.S., the British asked that Canadians pay a part of the expense of defence, and a Militia Bill was introduced in the Assembly in 1862. The opposition objected to the expense, and Canada East representatives feared that French-Canadians would have to fight in a war they wanted no part in. Macdonald was drinking heavily and failed to provide much leadership on behalf of

14784-441: The card game loo and winning substantially. Sometime during his two months in Britain, he met his first cousin, Isabella Clark . As Macdonald did not mention her in his letters home, the circumstances of their meeting are not known. In late 1842, Isabella journeyed to Kingston to visit with a sister. The visit stretched for nearly a year before John and Isabella Macdonald married on 1 September 1843. On 29 March 1843, Macdonald

14952-449: The chair he had fallen asleep in, but Macdonald refused to miss any sessions of the conference. In February, he married Agnes at St George's, Hanover Square . On 8 March, the British North America Act, 1867 , which would thereafter serve as the major part of Canada's constitution, passed the House of Commons (it had previously passed the House of Lords). Queen Victoria gave the bill Royal Assent on 29 March 1867. Macdonald had favoured

15120-426: The concept of a strong, central government, and fought Quebec separatism , other forms of Quebec nationalism , and the granting of " distinct society " status to Quebec; however, such actions served as rallying cries for sovereigntists, and alienated many Francophone Quebeckers. The other primary legacy of the Trudeau years has been financial. Net federal debt in fiscal 1968, just before Trudeau became prime minister,

15288-501: The confidence of the House of Commons. Macdonald resigned as prime minister on 5 November 1873. He also offered his resignation as the head of the Conservative Party, but it was not accepted, and he was convinced to stay. Perhaps as a direct result of this scandal, the Conservatives fell in the eyes of the public and was relegated to being the Official Opposition in the federal election of 1874 in which secret ballots were used for

15456-664: The court of public opinion. And, while there, he was learning the arts of argument and of persuasion that would serve him all his political life. All male Upper Canadians between 18 and 60 years of age were members of the Sedentary Militia, which was called into active duty during the Rebellions of 1837 . Macdonald served as a Private in Captain George Well's Company of the Commercial Bank Guard. Macdonald and

15624-460: The creation of Canada's social safety net . Bowing to popular pressure, he introduced the mother's allowance, a monthly payment to all mothers with young children. He also reluctantly introduced old age pensions when J. S. Woodsworth required it in exchange for his Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party's support of King's minority government . Louis St. Laurent succeeded King as Liberal leader and prime minister on November 15, 1948. In

15792-543: The culmination of a decades-long shift in Liberal immigration policy, a reversal of pre-war racial attitudes that spurred discriminatory policies such as the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 and the MS St. Louis incident . The most lasting effect of the Trudeau years has been the patriation of the Constitution of Canada and the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . Trudeau's Liberals supported

15960-537: The defendants in the one trial to take place in Kingston. All the Kingston defendants were acquitted, and a local paper described Macdonald as "one of the youngest barristers in the Province [who] is rapidly rising in his profession". In late 1838, Macdonald agreed to advise one of a group of American raiders who had crossed the border to overthrow British rule in Canada. The raiders had been captured by government forces after

16128-435: The difference in several close races. In the 2004 election , the Liberals retained enough support to continue as the government, though they were reduced to a minority. In the midst of various court rulings in 2003 and 2004 that allowed for the legalization of same-sex marriage in seven provinces and one territory, the Martin government proposed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage across Canada . The House of Commons passed

16296-413: The economic conditions at the time. They would not come back to office until 1896; Wilfrid Laurier was prime minister from that year until the party's defeat in 1911 and his tenure was marked by several compromises between English and French Canada. From the early 1920s until the mid-1950s, the Liberal Party under Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent gradually built

16464-457: The education, skills training, housing and health care of aboriginal peoples by providing $ 5 billion in funding over five years. Following the release of the first Gomery Report , the Liberals dropped in polls. Nonetheless, Martin turned down the NDP's conditions for continued support, as well as rejecting an opposition proposal which would schedule a February 2006 election in return for passing several pieces of legislation. The Liberals thus lost

16632-431: The election concluded on 15 October 1844. Macdonald was never an orator, and especially disliked the bombastic addresses of the time. Instead, he found a niche in becoming an expert on election law and parliamentary procedure. In 1844, Isabella fell ill. She recovered, but the illness recurred the following year, and she became an invalid. John took his wife to Savannah, Georgia , in the United States in 1845, hoping that

16800-543: The election, Nova Scotia 's premier, Charles Tupper , pushed a pro-Confederation resolution through that colony's legislature. A final conference, to be held in London, was needed before the British Parliament could formalise the union. Maritime delegates left for London in July 1866, but Macdonald, who was drinking heavily again, did not leave until November, angering the Maritimers. In December 1866, Macdonald both led

16968-402: The eliminated Kennedy to leapfrog both Rae and Ignatieff, eliminating Rae. On the fourth and final ballot, Dion defeated Ignatieff to become leader of the Liberal Party. Dion campaigned on environmental sustainability during the leadership race, which later evolved into the "Green Shift": a proposal for a national carbon tax that would be offset by reductions to income tax rates. The plan was

17136-496: The ensuing hard times. Macdonald returned as prime minister in the 1878 election thanks to his National Policy . He held the office of prime minister to his death in 1891, and the Canadian Pacific was completed by 1885 while Macdonald still in office, although by a completely different corporation. John A. Macdonald Provincial Provincial Sir John Alexander Macdonald (10 or 11 January 1815 – 6 June 1891)

17304-488: The failed Meech Lake and Charlottetown Constitutional Accords , which would have recognized Quebec as a "distinct society" and would have increased the powers of the provinces to the detriment of the federal government. Trudeau stepped down as prime minister and party leader in 1984, as the Liberals were slipping in polls. At that year's leadership convention, Turner defeated Chrétien on the second ballot to become prime minister. Immediately, upon taking office, Turner called

17472-505: The finances needed to undertake such large projects. For the first transcontinental railroad , the United States government had made extensive grants of public land to the railway's builders, inducing private financiers to fund the railway on the understanding that they would acquire rich farmland along the route, which could then be sold for a large profit. However, the eastern terminus of the proposed Canadian Pacific route, unlike that of

17640-488: The first Canadian ambassador to Washington in 1926, marking the Liberal government's insistence on having direct relations with the United States, rather than having Britain act on Canada's behalf. In the period just before and after the Second World War , the party became a champion of 'progressive social policy'. As prime minister for most of the time between 1921 and 1948, King introduced several measures that led to

17808-464: The first time. It gave Alexander Mackenzie a firm mandate to succeed Macdonald as the new prime minister of Canada. Despite the short-term defeat, the scandal was not a mortal wound to Macdonald, the Conservative Party, or the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Long Depression gripped Canada shortly after Macdonald left office, and although the causes of the depression were largely external to Canada, many Canadians blamed Mackenzie for

17976-458: The first transcontinental, was not in rich Nebraskan farmland, but deep within the Canadian Shield. Copying the American financing model whilst insisting on an all-Canadian route would require the railway's backers to build hundreds of miles of track across rugged shield terrain, with little economic value. at considerable expense before they could expect to access lucrative farmland in Manitoba and

18144-596: The free trade concept and—with the exception of the replacement of the GST with the Harmonized Sales Tax in some Atlantic provinces—broke their promise to replace the GST. After a proposal for Quebec independence was narrowly defeated in the 1995 Quebec referendum , the Liberals passed the " Clarity Act ", which outlines the federal government's preconditions for negotiating provincial independence. In Chrétien's final term, he supported same-sex marriage , decriminalizing

18312-666: The frontrunners. A key moment in that race took place at an all-candidates debate in Montreal, where the discussion quickly turned to the Meech Lake Accord. Martin, favouring Meech, attempted to force Chrétien to abandon his nuanced position on the deal and declare for or against it. When Chrétien refused to endorse the deal, young Liberal delegates crowding the hall began to chant "vendu" ("sellout" in French) and "Judas" at Chrétien. The incident damaged Chrétien's reputation in Quebec, and lead to

18480-527: The government's decision to not enter the United States-led invasion, with 27 percent expressing disapproval. In Chrétien's final weeks as prime minister, he introduced legislation to reduce the maximum allowable donation to a political party or candidate to $ 5,000. The move came as a surprise even to Liberal supporters, as Chrétien had not done anything about election financing at any other point in his ten years in office. Political observers suggested that

18648-419: The government-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation / Radio-Canada ) are available in both languages throughout the country. The Trudeau Liberals are also credited with support for state multiculturalism as a means of integrating immigrants into Canadian society without forcing them to shed their culture, leading the party to build a base of support among recent immigrants and their children. This marked

18816-581: The infant. Although he was often absent due to his wife's illness, Macdonald was able to gain professional and political advancement. In 1846, he was made a Queen's Counsel . The same year, he was offered the non-cabinet post of solicitor general , but declined it. In 1847, Macdonald became receiver general . Accepting the government post required Macdonald to give up his law firm income and spend most of his time in Montreal, away from Isabella. When elections were held in December 1848 and January 1849, Macdonald

18984-425: The legislature of the Province of Canada . By 1857, he had become premier under the colony's unstable political system. In 1864, when no party proved capable of governing for long, he agreed to a proposal from his political rival, George Brown , that the parties unite in a Great Coalition to seek federation and political reform. He was a leading figure in the subsequent discussions and conferences which resulted in

19152-654: The mid-19th century Reformers who advocated for responsible government throughout British North America . These included George Brown , Alexander Mackenzie , Robert Baldwin , William Lyon Mackenzie and the Clear Grits in Upper Canada , Joseph Howe in Nova Scotia, and the Patriotes and Rouges in Lower Canada led by figures such as Louis-Joseph Papineau . The Clear Grits and Parti rouge sometimes functioned as

19320-412: The militia marched to Toronto to confront the rebels, and Sir Joseph Pope , Macdonald's private secretary, recalled Macdonald's account of his experience during the march: "I carried my musket in '37", he was wont to say in after years. One day he gave me an account of a long march his company made, I forget from what place, but Toronto was the objective point: "The day was hot, my feet were blistered – I

19488-443: The move allowed Chrétien to retire on a positive note while saddling Martin, his longstanding rival and successor, with the burden of having to fight an election under the strict new rules. Martin succeeded Chrétien as party leader and prime minister in 2003. Despite the personal rivalry between the two, Martin was Minister of Finance during the 1990s and was the architect of the Liberals' economic policies. Chrétien left office with

19656-461: The nascent nation absorbed by the United States. In August 1867, the new nation's first general election was held; Macdonald's party won easily, with strong support in both large provinces, and a majority from New Brunswick. By 1869, Nova Scotia had agreed to remain part of Canada after a promise of better financial terms – the first of many provinces to negotiate concessions from Ottawa. Pressure from London and Ottawa failed to gain

19824-505: The national government in Ottawa . He approved the execution of Métis leader Louis Riel for treason in 1885 which alienated many francophones from his Conservative Party. He sat until his death in 1891 and remains the oldest Canadian prime minister. Macdonald came under criticism for his role in the Chinese head tax and federal policies toward Indigenous peoples , including his actions during

19992-500: The new Commercial Bank of the Midland District. Throughout the 1840s, Macdonald invested heavily in real estate, including commercial properties in downtown Toronto. Meanwhile, he was suffering from some illness, and in 1841, his father died. Sick and grieving, he decided to take a lengthy holiday in Britain in early 1842. He left for the journey well supplied with money, as he spent the last three days before his departure gambling at

20160-475: The new province; Upper Canada and Lower Canada became known as Canada West and Canada East. In March 1844, Macdonald was asked by local businessmen to stand as Conservative candidate for Kingston in the upcoming legislative election . Macdonald followed the contemporary custom of supplying the voters with large quantities of alcohol. Votes were publicly declared in this election, and Macdonald defeated his opponent, Anthony Manahan , by 275 "shouts" to 42 when

20328-578: The newly created Northwest Territories , which at that time included Alberta and Saskatchewan . Many financiers, who had expected to make a relatively quick profit, were not willing to make that sort of long-term commitment. Nevertheless, the Montreal capitalist Hugh Allan , with his syndicate Canada Pacific Railway Company, sought the potentially lucrative charter for the project. The problem lay in that Allan and Macdonald highly and secretly were in cahoots with American financiers such as George W. McMullen and Jay Cooke , men who were deeply interested in

20496-491: The official opposition. Ignatieff was defeated in his own riding, and announced his resignation as Liberal leader shortly after. Bob Rae was chosen as the interim leader on May 25, 2011. Pundits widely viewed the 2011 election as a political realignment and questioned the Liberal Party's viability. The Economist said, "the election represents the biggest realignment of Canadian politics since 1993"; Maclean's writer Andrew Coyne wrote that "the Conservatives are now in

20664-474: The one they had handed the Liberals nine years earlier. The Liberals were re-elected with a considerably reduced majority in 1997 , but nearly tied their 1993 total in 2000 . For the next decade, the Liberals dominated Canadian politics in a fashion not seen since the early years of Confederation. This was because of the splintering of the Progressive Conservative's electoral coalition. The PCs' Western support, for all practical purposes, transferred en masse to

20832-463: The opposition party in Parliament, accused the Conservatives of having made a tacit agreement to give the contract to Hugh Allan in exchange for money. In making such allegations, the Liberals and their allies in the press (particularly George Brown 's newspaper The Globe ) presumed that most of the money had been used to bribe voters in the 1872 election. The secret ballot, which was then considered

21000-442: The organization of election campaigns and the development of policy. With the defeat of the Liberals in the 1957 federal election and in particular 1958 , reformers argued for the strengthening of the national party organization so it would not be dependent on provincial Liberal parties and patronage. A national executive and Council of presidents, consisting of the presidents of each Liberal riding association, were developed to give

21168-410: The other prisoners, had to conduct his own defence. George was convicted and hanged. According to Macdonald biographer Donald Swainson, "By 1838, Macdonald's position was secure. He was a public figure, a popular young man, and a senior lawyer." Macdonald continued to expand his practice while being appointed director of many companies, mainly in Kingston. He became both a director of and a lawyer for

21336-463: The party more co-ordination and national party conventions were regularly held in biennially where previously they had been held infrequently. Over time, provincial Liberal parties in most provinces were separated from provincial wings of the federal party and in a number of cases disaffiliated. By the 1980s, the National Liberal Federation was officially known as the Liberal Party of Canada. Under Laurier, and his successor William Lyon Mackenzie King ,

21504-420: The party that garnered the largest share of the national popular vote did not win the most seats; the Liberals under Trudeau had 33.1 per cent of the popular vote, while the Conservatives under Andrew Scheer had 34.4 per cent. It was also the first time a government took power with less than 35 per cent of the national popular vote since the Conservatives of John A. Macdonald , in 1867, who had 34.8 per cent of

21672-465: The party's return to power in the 1921 federal election the nascent national party organizations were eclipsed by powerful ministers and local party organizations largely driven by patronage . As a result of both the party's defeat in the 1930 federal election and the Beauharnois scandal , which highlighted the need for distance between the Liberal Party's parliamentary wing and campaign fundraising,

21840-497: The policy would transform Canada into a country where English and French Canadians could live together, and allow Canadians to move to any part of the country without having to lose their language. Although this vision has yet to fully materialize, official bilingualism has helped to halt the decline of the French language outside of Quebec, and to ensure that all federal government services (including radio and television services provided by

22008-431: The popular vote and 184 seats, it was the first time a party had won a parliamentary majority after placing third in a previous general election. Chantal Hébert deemed the result "a Liberal comeback that is headed straight for the history books", while Bloomberg 's Josh Wingrove and Theophilos Argitis similarly described it as "capping the biggest political comeback in the country’s history." Spencer McKay, writing for

22176-546: The position, serving briefly as a Private in the regiment, patrolling the area around Kingston. The town saw no real action during 1838 and Macdonald was not called upon to fire on the enemy. The Frontenac Militia regiments stayed on active duty in Kingston while the Battle of the Windmill occurred. Although most of the trials resulting from the Upper Canada Rebellion took place in Toronto, Macdonald represented one of

22344-549: The possession of small quantities of marijuana, and ratified the Kyoto Protocol . On March 17, 2003, Chrétien announced that Canada would not support the invasion of Iraq , which caused friction with the United States. However, a poll conducted by EKOS for the Toronto Star and La Presse shortly afterwards showed widespread approval of Chrétien's decision by the Canadian public: 71 percent of those questioned approved of

22512-541: The post of solicitor general, and so had to face a by-election. John A. Macdonald campaigned against Richards personally, and Richards was defeated by a Conservative. The switch in seats cost the Grits their majority, and they resigned in March. John A. Macdonald returned to office with Taché as titular premier. The Taché-Macdonald government was defeated in June. The parties were deadlocked to such an extent that, according to Swainson, "It

22680-447: The railroad and telegraph improved communications. According to Macdonald biographer Richard Gwyn, "In short, Canadians began to become a single community." At the same time, the provincial government became increasingly difficult to manage. An act affecting both Canada East and Canada West required a "double majority" – a majority of legislators from each of the two sections of the province. This led to increasing deadlock in

22848-636: The railway interest himself. Substantial sums went to Cartier, who waged an expensive fight to try to retain his seat in Montreal East (he was defeated, but was subsequently returned for the Manitoba seat of Provencher ). During the campaign Cartier had fallen ill with Bright's disease , which may have been causing his judgment to lapse; he died in May 1873 while seeking treatment in London. Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada ( LPC ; Quebec French : Parti libéral du Canada , PLC )

23016-505: The rival American undertaking, the Northern Pacific Railroad . Two groups competed for the contract to build the railway, Hugh Allan's Canada Pacific Railway Company and David Lewis Macpherson 's Inter-Oceanic Railway Company . On April 2, 1873, Lucius Seth Huntington , a Liberal Member of Parliament, created an uproar in the House of Commons. He announced he had uncovered evidence that Allan and his associates had been granted

23184-453: The sea air and warmth would cure her ailments. John returned to Canada after six months and Isabella remained in the United States for three years. He visited her again in New York at the end of 1846 and returned several months later when she informed him she was pregnant. In August 1847 their son John Alexander Macdonald Jr. was born in New York, but as Isabella remained ill, relatives cared for

23352-474: The seat of government permanently to Quebec City. Macdonald opposed this and used his power to force the Assembly to reconsider in 1857. He proposed that Queen Victoria decide which city should be Canada's capital. Opponents, especially from Canada East, argued that she would not make the decision in isolation and was bound to receive informal advice from her Canadian ministers. His scheme was adopted, with Canada East support assured by allowing Quebec City to serve

23520-503: The talk of being eclipsed by the NDP, who won 43 seats. Turner announced that he would resign as leader of the Liberal Party on May 3, 1989. The Liberal Party set a leadership convention for June 23, 1990 , in Calgary . Five candidates contested the leadership of the party, with former Deputy Prime Minister Jean Chrétien , who had served in every Liberal cabinet since 1965, and Paul Martin , MP and former CEO of Canada Steamship Lines , as

23688-540: The terms after a debate over the high cost that cabinet member Alexander Morris described as the worst fight the Conservatives had had since Confederation. There were continuing disputes with the Americans over deep-sea fishing rights, and in early 1871, an Anglo-American commission was appointed to settle outstanding matters between the British, the Canadians and the Americans. Canada was hoping to secure compensation for damage done by Fenians raiding Canada from bases in

23856-443: The union coming into force on 15 July, fearing that the preparations would not be completed any earlier. The British favoured an earlier date and, on 22 May, it was announced that Canada would come into existence on 1 July. Lord Monck appointed Macdonald as the new nation's first prime minister. With the birth of the new nation, Canada East and Canada West became separate provinces, known as Quebec and Ontario, respectively. Macdonald

24024-472: The uprising before the formal transfer; as a result of the unrest, the Red River Colony joined Confederation as the province of Manitoba, while the rest of the purchased lands became the North-West Territories . Macdonald also wished to secure the colony of British Columbia. There was interest in the United States in bringing about the colony's annexation, and Macdonald wished to ensure his new nation had

24192-512: The year of Confederation , US Secretary of State William H. Seward surmised that the whole North American continent "shall be, sooner or later, within the magic circle of the American Union." Therefore, preventing American investment into the project was considered as being in Canada's national interest. Thus the federal government favoured an "all Canadian route" through the rugged Canadian Shield of northern Ontario and refused to consider

24360-489: Was Britain which determined external affairs for the dominion. In 1905, Laurier created the Department of External Affairs , and in 1909 he advised Governor General Earl Grey to appoint the first Secretary of State for External Affairs to Cabinet . It was also Laurier who first proposed the creation of a Canadian Navy in 1910. Mackenzie King recommended the appointment by Governor General Lord Byng of Vincent Massey as

24528-420: Was Eliza Grimason, an Irish immigrant then aged sixteen, who sought advice concerning a shop she and her husband wanted to buy. Grimason would become one of Macdonald's richest and most loyal supporters, and may have also become his lover. Macdonald joined many local organisations, seeking to become well known in the town. He also sought out high-profile cases, representing accused child rapist William Brass. Brass

24696-407: Was a loose coalition of local, provincial, and regional bodies with a strong national party leader and caucus, but with an informal and regionalized extra-parliamentary organizational structure. There was no national membership of the party. An individual became a member by joining a provincial Liberal party. Laurier called the party's first national convention in 1893 to unite Liberal supporters behind

24864-452: Was a third-place finish, with only 19 percent of the vote and returning 34 seats in the House of Commons. Notably, their support in Toronto and Montreal, their power bases for the last two decades, all but vanished. The Conservatives won 40 percent of the vote and formed a majority government, while the NDP won 31 percent of the vote and formed the Official Opposition. It marked the first time the Liberals were unable to form either government or

25032-408: Was about $ 18 billion CAD , or 26 percent of gross domestic product; by his final year in office, it had ballooned to over 200 billion—at 46 percent of GDP, nearly twice as large relative to the economy. After Trudeau's retirement in 1984, many Liberals, such as Jean Chrétien and Clyde Wells , continued to adhere to Trudeau's concept of federalism. Others, such as John Turner , supported

25200-431: Was aged 10, his family gathered enough money to send him to Midland District Grammar School in Kingston. Macdonald's formal schooling ended at 15, a common school-leaving age at a time when only children from the most prosperous families were able to attend university. Macdonald later regretted leaving school when he did, remarking to his secretary Joseph Pope that if he had attended university, he might have embarked on

25368-608: Was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) on that first observance of what came to be known as Dominion Day, later called Canada Day , on 1 July 1867. Macdonald and his government faced immediate problems upon the formation of the new country. Much work remained to do in creating a federal government. Nova Scotia was already threatening to withdraw from the union; the Intercolonial Railway, which would both conciliate

25536-560: Was appointed premier in place of the retiring Taché, just in time to lead the Conservatives in a general election. Macdonald was elected in Kingston by 1,189 votes to 9 for John Shaw; other Conservatives did poorly in Canada West and only French-Canadian support kept Macdonald in power. On 28 December, Isabella Macdonald died, leaving John a widower with a seven-year-old son. Hugh John Macdonald would be principally raised by his paternal aunt and her husband. The Assembly had voted to move

25704-540: Was but a weary boy – and I thought I should have dropped under the weight of the old flint musket which galled my shoulder. But I managed to keep up with my companion, a grim old soldier who seemed impervious to fatigue." The Bank Guard served on active duty in Toronto guarding the Commercial Bank of the Midland District on King Street . The company was present at the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern and Macdonald recalled in an 1887 letter to Sir James Gowan that: "I

25872-443: Was chosen. However, the 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute made Dion's continued leadership untenable: an agreement to form a coalition government between the with NDP faced public opposition if it meant Dion was to be become prime minister, even if only until the leadership election. Dion thus resigned as leader on December 8, with caucus selecting Ignatieff as interim leader. However, Harper prorogued Parliament before

26040-472: Was clear to everybody that the constitution of the Province of Canada was dead". As his government had fallen again, Macdonald approached the new governor general, Lord Monck , to dissolve the legislature . Before Macdonald could act on this, Brown approached him through intermediaries; the Grit leader believed that the crisis gave the parties the opportunity to join together for constitutional reform. Brown had led

26208-585: Was considered poor and the Liberal Party never held a majority of the seats in parliament during his premiership, he left office in 1968 with an impressive legacy. Pearson's government introduced Medicare , a new immigration act, the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Student Loans, the Canada Assistance Plan , and adopted the Maple Leaf as Canada's national flag. Under Pierre Trudeau , the mission of

26376-673: Was easily reelected for Kingston, but the Conservatives lost seats and were forced to resign when the legislature reconvened in March 1848. Macdonald returned to Kingston when the legislature was not sitting, and Isabella joined him there in June. In August, their child died suddenly. In March 1850, Isabella Macdonald gave birth to another boy, Hugh John Macdonald , and his father wrote, "We have got Johnny back again, almost his image." Macdonald began to drink heavily around this time, both in public and in private, which Patricia Phenix, who studied Macdonald's private life, attributes to his family troubles. The Liberals, or Grits , maintained power in

26544-407: Was elected as alderman in Kingston's Fourth Ward, with 156 votes against 43 for his opponent, Colonel Jackson. He also suffered what he termed his first downfall, as his supporters, carrying the victorious candidate, accidentally dropped him onto a slushy street. The British Parliament had merged Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada in 1841. Kingston became the initial capital of

26712-407: Was hanged for his crime, but Macdonald attracted positive press comments for the quality of his defence. According to one of his biographers, Richard Gwyn : As a criminal lawyer who took on dramatic cases, Macdonald got himself noticed well beyond the narrow confines of the Kingston business community. He was operating now in the arena where he would spend by far the greatest part of his life –

26880-515: Was in the Second or Third Company behind the cannon that opened out on Montgomery’s House. During the week of the rebellion I was [in] the Commercial Bank Guard in the house on King Street, afterward the habitat of George Brown’s ' Globe '." The Bank Guard was taken off active service on 17 December 1837, and returned to Kingston. On 15 February 1838, Macdonald was appointed an Ensign in the 3rd (East) Regiment of Frontenac Militia but did not take up

27048-452: Was not built. An entirely different operation later built the Canadian Pacific Railway to the Pacific. For a young and loosely-defined nation, the building of a national railway was an active attempt at state-making, as well as an aggressive capitalist venture. Canada, a nascent country with a population of 3.5 million in 1871, lacked the means to exercise meaningful de facto control within

27216-491: Was resolved by appointing another compromise candidate to serve as titular premier, Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau . In 1865, after lengthy debates, Canada's legislative assembly approved Confederation by 91 votes to 33. None of the Maritimes approved the plan. In 1866, Macdonald and his colleagues financed pro-Confederation candidates in the New Brunswick general election , resulting in a pro-Confederation assembly. Shortly after

27384-475: Was set for December 2, 2006, in Montreal . Eight candidates entered the contest, but only Michael Ignatieff , Bob Rae , Stéphane Dion and Gerard Kennedy were considered to be the capable of garnering enough support to be able to win the leadership, with Ignatieff and Rae being considered the front-runners . Although Ignatieff lead on the first two ballots, on the third ballot Dion picked up enough support from

27552-601: Was sometimes a safe haven for Confederate Secret Service operations against the U.S.; many Canadian citizens and politicians were sympathetic to the Confederacy. This led to events such as the Chesapeake Affair , the St. Albans Raid , and a failed attempt to burn down New York City . As attorney general of Canada West, Macdonald refused to prosecute Confederate operatives who were using Canada to launch attacks on U.S. soil across

27720-585: Was the Washington treaty, which had not yet been debated in Parliament. In early 1872, Macdonald submitted the treaty for ratification, and it passed the Commons with a majority of 66. The general election was held through late August and early September. Redistribution had given Ontario increased representation in the House; Macdonald spent much time campaigning in the province, for the most part outside Kingston. Widespread bribery of voters took place throughout Canada,

27888-561: Was the first prime minister of Canada , serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He was the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation , and had a political career that spanned almost half a century. Macdonald was born in Scotland ; when he was a boy his family immigrated to Kingston in the Province of Upper Canada (today in eastern Ontario ). As a lawyer, he was involved in several high-profile cases and quickly became prominent in Kingston, which elected him in 1844 to

28056-414: Was the third of five children. After Hugh's business ventures left him in debt, the family immigrated to Kingston , in Upper Canada (today the southern and eastern portions of Ontario), in 1820, as the family had several relatives and connections there. The family initially lived together, then resided over a store which Hugh Macdonald ran. Soon after their arrival, John's younger brother James died from

28224-406: Was unprecedented for a Canadian party. Taking full advantage of the inability of Mulroney's successor, Kim Campbell , to overcome a large amount of antipathy toward Mulroney, they won a strong majority government with 177 seats—the third-best performance in party history, and their best since 1949. The Progressive Conservatives were cut down to only two seats, suffering a defeat even more severe than

#346653