Вильфрид Лорье: Седьмой премьер-министр Канады

Prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911

Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ('/l//ɒr//i//eɪ/ LORReeay; wilfʁid loʁje; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minister, his 15 year tenure remains the longest uninterrupted term of office among Canadian prime ministers and his nearly 45 years of service in the House of Commons is a record for the House. Laurier is best known for his compromises between English and French Canada. Laurier studied law at McGill University and practised as a lawyer before being elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec in 1871. He was then elected as a member of Parliament (MP) in the 1874 federal election. As an MP, Laurier gained a large personal following among French Canadians and the Québécois. He also came to be known as a great orator. After serving as minister of inland revenue under Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie from 1877 to 1878, Laurier became leader of the Liberal Party in 1887, thus becoming leader of the Official Opposition. He lost the 1891 federal election to Prime Minister John A. Macdonald's Conservatives. However, controversy surrounding the Conservative government's handling of the Manitoba Schools Question, which was triggered by the Manitoba government's elimination of funding for Catholic schools, gave Laurier a victory in the 1896 federal election. He paved the Liberal Party to three more election victories afterwards. As prime minister, Laurier solved the Manitoba Schools Question by allowing Catholic students to have a Catholic education on a school by school basis. Despite his controversial handling of the dispute and criticism from some French Canadians who believed that the resolution was insufficient, he was nicknamed "the Great Conciliator" for offering a compromise between French and English Canada. Two issues, the United Kingdom demanding Canadian military support to fight in the Second Boer War, and the United Kingdom asking Canada to send money for the British Navy, divided the country as English Canadians supported Britain's requests whereas French Canadians did not. Laurier's government sought a middle ground between the two groups, deciding to send a volunteer force to fight in the Boer War and passing the 1910 Naval Service Act to create Canada's own navy. In addition, his government dramatically increased immigration, oversaw Alberta and Saskatchewan's entry into Confederation, constructed the Grand Trunk Pacific and National Transcontinental Railways, and put effort into establishing Canada as an autonomous country within the British Empire. Laurier's proposed reciprocity agreement with the United States to lower tariffs became a main issue in the 1911 federal election, in which the Liberals were defeated by the Conservatives led by Robert Borden, who claimed that the treaty would lead to the US influencing Canadian identity. Despite his defeat, Laurier stayed on as Liberal leader and once again became leader of the Opposition. During World War I and the Conscription Crisis of 1917, Laurier faced divisions within the Liberal Party as pro conscription Liberals joined Borden's Unionist government. The anti conscription faction of the Liberal Party, led by Laurier, became the Laurier Liberals, though the group would be heavily defeated by Borden's Unionists in the 1917 federal election. Laurier remained Opposition leader even after his 1917 defeat, but was not able to fight in another election as he died in 1919. Laurier is ranked among the top three of Canadian prime ministers. At 31 years and 8 months, Laurier is the longest serving leader of a major Canadian political party. He is the fourth longest serving prime minister of Canada, behind Pierre Trudeau, Macdonald, and William Lyon Mackenzie King.

The second child of Carolus Laurier and Marcelle Martineau, Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier was born in Saint Lin, Canada East (modern day Saint Lin Laurentides, Quebec), on November 20, 1841. He was a sixth generation French Canadian. His ancestor François Cottineau, dit Champlaurier, came to Canada from Saint Claud, France. Laurier grew up in a family where politics was a staple of talk and debate. His father, an educated man having liberal ideas, enjoyed a certain degree of prestige about town. In addition to being a farmer and surveyor, he also occupied such sought after positions as mayor, justice of the peace, militia lieutenant and school board member. At the age of 11, Wilfrid left home to study in New Glasgow, a neighbouring village largely inhabited by immigrants from Scotland. Over the next two years, he familiarized himself with the mentality, language and culture of British people, in addition to learning English. In 1854, Laurier attended the Collège de L'Assomption, an institution that staunchly followed Roman Catholicism. There, he started to develop an interest in politics, and began to endorse the ideology of liberalism, despite the school being heavily conservative.

In September 1861, Laurier began studying law at McGill University. There, he met Zoé Lafontaine, who would later become his wife. Laurier also discovered that he had chronic bronchitis, an illness that would stick with him for the rest of his life. At McGill, Laurier joined the Parti Rouge, or Red Party, which was a centre left political party that contested elections in Canada East. In 1864, Laurier graduated from McGill. Laurier would continue being active within the Parti Rouge, and from May 1864 to fall 1866, was vice president of the Institut canadien de Montréal, a literary society with ties to the Rouge. In August 1864, Laurier joined the Liberals of Lower Canada, an anti Confederation group composed of both moderates and radicals. The group argued that Confederation would give too much power to the central, or federal government, and the group believed that Confederation would lead to discrimination towards French Canadians. Laurier then practised law in Montreal, though he initially struggled as a lawyer. He opened his first practice on October 27, 1864, but closed it within a month. He established his second office, but that closed within three months, due to a lack of clients. In March 1865, nearly bankrupt, Laurier established his third law firm, partnering with Médéric Lanctot, a lawyer and journalist who staunchly opposed Confederation. The two experienced some success, but in late 1866, Laurier was invited by fellow Rouge Antoine Aimé Dorion to replace his recently deceased brother to became editor and run the newspaper, Le Défricheur. serving from 1869 to 1878 during the Fenian Raids.

A member of the Quebec Liberal Party, Laurier was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Drummond Arthabaska in the 1871 Quebec general election, though the Liberal Party altogether suffered a landslide defeat. To win the provincial riding, Laurier campaigned on increasing funding for education, agriculture, and colonization. His career as a provincial politician was not noteworthy, and very few times would he make speeches in the legislature. Laurier remained disillusioned for some time after his defeat. Multiple times he suggested he resign as leader, though he was persuaded not to by other Liberals. Only in 1893 did Laurier become encouraged again. On June 20 and 21, 1893, Laurier convened a Liberal convention in Ottawa. The convention established that unrestricted reciprocity was intended to develop Canada's natural resources and that keeping a customs tariff was intended to generate revenue. Laurier subsequently undertook a series of speaking tours to campaign on the convention's results. Laurier visited Western Canada in September and October 1894, promising to relax the Conservatives' National Policy, open the American market, and increase immigration.

One of Laurier's first acts as prime minister was to implement a solution to the Manitoba Schools Question, which had helped to bring down the Conservative government of Charles Tupper earlier in 1896. The Manitoba legislature had passed a law eliminating public funding for Catholic schooling. Supporters of Catholic schools argued that the new statute was contrary to the provisions of the Manitoba Act, 1870, which had a provision relating to school funding, but the courts rejected that argument and held that the new statute was constitutional. The Catholic minority in Manitoba then asked the federal government for support, and eventually, the Conservatives proposed remedial legislation to override Manitoba's legislation. Laurier opposed the remedial legislation on the basis of provincial rights and succeeded in blocking its passage by Parliament. Once elected, Laurier reached a compromise with the provincial premier, Thomas Greenway. Known as the Laurier Greenway Compromise, the agreement did not allow separate Catholic schools to be re established. However, religious instruction (Catholic education) would take place for 30 minutes at the end of each day, if requested by the parents of 10 children in rural areas or 25 in urban areas. Catholic teachers were allowed to be hired in the schools as long as there were at least 40 Catholic students in urban areas or 25 Catholic students in rural areas, and teachers could speak in French (or any other minority language) as long as there were enough Francophone students. This was seen by many as the best possible solution in the circumstances, however, some French Canadians criticized this move as it was done on an individual basis, and did not protect Catholic or French rights in all schools. Laurier called his effort to lessen the tinder in this issue "sunny ways" .

Laurier's government introduced and initiated the idea of constructing a second transcontinental railway, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The first transcontinental railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway, had limitations and was not able to meet everyone's needs. In the West, the railway was not able to transport everything produced by farmers and in the East, the railway did not reach into Northern Ontario and Northern Quebec. Laurier was in favour of a transcontinental line built entirely on Canadian land by private enterprise. During his government dealing with railway contractors, Laurier became close friends with Canadian railway magnate Hugh Ryan and remained so until Ryan's death in 1899 —Laurier was the first person to send condolences to the family both publicly and privately.

On September 1, 1905, through the Alberta Act and the Saskatchewan Act, Laurier oversaw Alberta and Saskatchewan's entry into Confederation, the last two provinces to be created out of the Northwest Territories. Laurier decided to create two provinces, arguing that one large province would be too difficult to govern. This followed the enactment of the Yukon Territory Act by the Laurier Government in 1898, separating the Yukon from the Northwest Territories. Also in 1898, Quebec was enlarged through the Quebec Boundary Extension Act.

Laurier's government dramatically increased immigration to grow the economy. Between 1897 and 1914, at least a million immigrants arrived in Canada, and Canada's population increased by 40 percent. Laurier's immigration policy targeted the Prairies as he argued that it would increase farming production and benefit the agriculture industry. The British Columbia electorate was alarmed at the arrival of people they considered "uncivilized" by Canadian standards, and adopted a whites only policy. Although railways and large companies wanted to hire Asians, labour unions and the public at large stood opposed. Both major parties went along with public opinion, with Laurier taking the lead. Scholars have argued that Laurier acted in terms of his racist views in restricting immigration from China and India, as shown by his support for the Chinese head tax. In 1900, Laurier raised the Chinese head tax to $100. In 1903, this was further raised to $500, but when a few Chinese did pay the $500, he proposed raising the sum to $1,000. This was not the first time Laurier showed racially charged action, and over the course of his time as a politician, he had a history of racist views and actions. In 1886, Laurier told the House of Commons that it was moral for Canada to take lands from “savage nations” so long as the government paid adequate compensation. Laurier also negotiated a limit to Japanese emigration to Canada. In August 1911, Laurier approved the Order in Council P. C. 1911 1324 recommended by the minister of the interior, Frank Oliver. The order was approved by the cabinet on August 12, 1911. The order was intended to keep out Black Americans escaping segregation in the American south, stating that "the Negro race is deemed unsuitable to the climate and requirements of Canada." The order was never called upon, as efforts by immigration officials had already reduced the number of Blacks migrating to Canada. The order was cancelled on October 5, 1911, the day before Laurier left office, by cabinet claiming that the minister of the interior was not present at the time of approval.

In March 1906, Laurier's government introduced the Lord's Day Act after being persuaded by the Lord's Day Alliance. The act became effective on March 1, 1907. It prohibited business transactions from taking place on Sundays; it also restricted Sunday trade, labour, recreation, and newspapers. The act was supported by organized labour and the French Canadian Catholic hierarchy but was opposed by those who worked in the manufacturing and transportation sectors. It was also opposed by French Canadians due to them believing the federal government was interfering in a provincial matter; the Quebec government passed its own Lord’s Day Act that came into effect one day before the federal act did. In 1907, Laurier's government passed the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act, which mandated conciliation for employers and workers before any strike in public utilities or mines, but did not make it necessary for the groups to accept the conciliators’ report. In 1908, a system was introduced where by annuities may be purchased from the government, the aim of which was to encourage voluntary provision for old age.

On June 22, 1897, Laurier attended the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, which was the 60th anniversary of her accession. There, he was knighted, and was given several honours, honorary degrees, and medals. In 1899, the United Kingdom expected military support from Canada, as part of the British Empire, in the Second Boer War. Laurier was caught between demands for support for military action from English Canada and a strong opposition from French Canada, which saw the Boer War as an English war. Laurier eventually decided to send a volunteer force, rather than the militia expected by Britain. Roughly 7,000 Canadian soldiers participated in the volunteer force. Outspoken French Canadian nationalist and Liberal MP Henri Bourassa was an especially vocal opponent of any form of military participation and thus resigned from the Liberal caucus in October 1899. On June 1, 1909, Laurier's government established the Department of External Affairs for Canada to take greater control of its foreign policy. The naval competition between the United Kingdom and the German Empire escalated in the early years of the 20th century. The British asked Canada for more money and resources for ship construction, precipitating a heated political division in Canada. Many English Canadians wished to send as much as possible; many French Canadians and those against wished to send nothing. Aiming for compromise, Laurier advanced the Naval Service Act of 1910 which created the Royal Canadian Navy. The navy would initially consist of five cruisers and six destroyers; in times of crisis, it could be made subordinate to the British Royal Navy. However, the idea faced opposition in both English and French Canada, especially in Quebec as ex Liberal and staunch French Canadian nationalist Henri Bourassa organized an anti Laurier force.

In 1897 and 1898, the Alaska Canada border emerged as a pressing issue. The Klondike Gold Rush prompted Laurier to demand an all Canadian route from the gold fields to a seaport. The region being a desirable place with lots of gold furthered Laurier's ambition of fixing an exact boundary. Laurier also wanted to establish who owned the Lynn Canal and who controlled maritime access to the Yukon. Laurier and US President William McKinley agreed to set up a joint Anglo American commission that would study the differences and resolve the dispute. However, this commission was unsuccessful and came to an abrupt end on February 20, 1899.

Though supportive of free trade with the United States, Laurier did not pursue the idea because the American government refused to discuss the issue. Instead, he implemented a Liberal version of the Conservatives' nationalist and protectionist National Policy by maintaining high tariffs on goods from other countries that restricted Canadian goods. However, he lowered tariffs to the same level as countries that admitted Canadian goods. In 1897, Laurier's government impelemented a preferential reduction of a tariff rate of 12.5 percent for countries that imported Canadian goods at a rate equivalent to the minimum Canadian charge; rates for countries that imposed a protective duty against Canada remained the same. For the most part, the policy was supported by those for free trade (due to the preferential reduction) and those against free trade (due to elements of the National Policy remaining in place). Also in 1907, Laurier's minister of finance, William Stevens Fielding, and minister of marine and fisheries, Louis Philippe Brodeur, negotiated a trade agreement with France which lowered import duties on some goods. In 1909, Fielding negotiated an agreement to promote trade with the British West Indies.

Laurier led the Liberals to three re elections in 1900, 1904, and 1908. In the 1900 and 1904 elections, the Liberals' popular vote and seat share kept increasing whereas in the 1908 election, their popular vote and seat share went slightly down.

By the late 1900s, Laurier had been able to build the Liberal Party a base in Quebec, which had remained a Conservative stronghold for decades due to the province's social conservatism and to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, which distrusted the Liberals' anti clericalism. The growing alienation of French Canadians from the Conservative Party due to its links with anti French, anti Catholic Orangemen in English Canada aided the Liberal Party. These factors, combined with the collapse of the Conservative Party of Quebec, gave Laurier an opportunity to build a stronghold in French Canada and among Catholics across Canada. However, Catholic priests in Quebec repeatedly warned their parishioners not to vote for Liberals. Their slogan was "le ciel est bleu, l'enfer est rouge" ("heaven is blue, hell is red", referring to the Conservative and Liberal parties' traditional colours).

In 1911, controversy arose regarding Laurier's support of trade reciprocity with the United States. His long serving minister of finance, William Stevens Fielding, reached an agreement allowing for the free trade of natural products. The agreement would also lower tariffs. This had the strong support of agricultural interests, particularly in Western Canada, but it alienated many businessmen who formed a significant part of the Liberal base. The Conservatives denounced the deal and played on long standing fears that reciprocity could eventually lead to weakened ties with Britain and a Canadian economy dominated by the United States. They also campaigned on fears that this would lead to the Canadian identity being taken away by the US and the American annexation of Canada. Contending with an unruly House of Commons, including vocal disapproval from Liberal MP Clifford Sifton, Laurier called an election to settle the issue of reciprocity. The Conservatives were victorious and the Liberals lost over a third of their seats. The Conservatives' leader, Robert Laird Borden, succeeded Laurier as prime minister. Over 15 consecutive years of Liberal rule ended. In the 1917 election, the Laurier Liberals were reduced to a mostly French Canadian rump. Laurier swept Quebec, winning 62 out of 65 of the province's seats, not least due to the French Canadians' overwhelming respect and support for Laurier as a result of his opposition to conscription. The Conscription Crisis once again revealed the divisions between French Canadians and English Canadians. Most English Canadians favoured conscription as they believed this would strengthen ties with the British Empire, whereas most French Canadians opposed conscription as they wanted nothing to do with the war. Laurier was now seen as a "traitor" to English Canadians and English Canadian Liberals, whereas he was seen as a "hero" for French Canadians. Laurier's protégé and successor as party leader, William Lyon Mackenzie King, unified the English and French factions of the Liberal Party, leading it to victory over the Conservatives in the 1921 federal election. 50,000 to 100,000 people jammed the streets of Ottawa as his funeral procession marched to his final resting place at Notre Dame Cemetery. His remains would eventually be placed in a stone sarcophagus, adorned by sculptures of nine mourning female figures, representing each of the provinces in the union. His wife, Zoé Laurier, died on November 1, 1921, and was placed in the same tomb. Laurier was permanently succeeded as Liberal leader by his former minister of labour, William Lyon Mackenzie King. King narrowly defeated Laurier's former minister of finance, William Stevens Fielding. According to Zoé, Fielding was Laurier's choice for next leader; Laurier believed Fielding had the best chance to restore unity in the party. The couple had no children. Beginning in 1878 and for some twenty years while married to Zoé, Laurier had an "ambiguous relationship" with a married woman, Émilie Barthe. Zoé was not an intellectual; Émilie was, and relished literature and politics like Wilfrid, whose heart she won. Rumour had it he fathered a son, Armand Lavergne, with her, yet Zoé remained with him until his death. "Passionate, charismatic, and an intellectual force in both languages," the Canadian War Museum's Tim Cook stated, "Sir Wilfrid was the full package."

Laurier is commemorated by three National Historic Sites. The Sir Wilfrid Laurier National Historic Site is in his birthplace, Saint Lin Laurentides, a town north of Montreal, Quebec. Its establishment reflected an early desire to not only mark his birthplace (a plaque in 1925 and a monument in 1927), but to create a shrine to Laurier in the 1930s. Despite early doubts and later confirmation that the house designated as the birthplace was neither Laurier's nor on its original site, its development, and the building of a museum, satisfied the goal of honoring the man and reflecting his early life. Laurier's brick residence in Ottawa is known as Laurier House National Historic Site, at the corner of what is now Laurier Avenue and Chapel Street. In their will, the Lauriers left the house to Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who in turn donated it to Canada upon his death. Both sites are administered by Parks Canada as part of the national park system. The 1876 Italianate residence of the Lauriers during his years as a lawyer and Member of Parliament, in Victoriaville, Quebec, is designated Wilfrid Laurier House National Historic Site, owned privately and operated as the Laurier Museum. In November 2011, Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, unveiled a statue depicting a young Wilfrid Laurier sitting on a bench, thinking.

Wilfrid Laurier appears as the leader of the Canadian civilization in the 4X video game Sid Meier's Civilization VI.