Wilfrid Laurier

Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier^[a] (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was 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 led the Liberal Party to three more consecutive majority governments in the 1900, 1904, and 1908 federal elections.

As prime minister, Laurier resolved the Manitoba Schools Question by persuading the Manitoba government to permit Catholic students to receive a Catholic education on a school-by-school basis. While this compromise drew criticism from some French Canadians who viewed it as inadequate, it earned him the nickname "the Great Conciliator" for balancing the interests of French and English Canada. When the British government requested Canadian troops to fight in the Second Boer War as well as financial contributions to the Royal Navy, Laurier again pursued middle ground. English Canadians supported both requests, while French Canadians opposed them. Laurier's solution was to dispatch a volunteer force to fight in the Boer War. His government later passed the Naval Service Act in 1910 to create Canada's own navy. His government also presided over a period of rapid demographic and territorial expansion. Immigration levels rose substantially, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan entered Confederation in 1905, and the construction of two major transcontinental railway projects—the Grand Trunk Pacific and the National Transcontinental—were initiated. Laurier also pursued policies aimed at enhancing Canada's autonomy within the British Empire, including by establishing the Department of External Affairs.

Laurier's proposed reciprocity agreement with the United States to lower tariffs became a main issue in the 1911 federal election. The Liberals were defeated by the Conservatives led by Robert Borden, who took the position that the treaty would lead to the U.S. 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 was heavily defeated by Borden's Unionists in the 1917 federal election. Laurier remained Opposition leader until his death 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, John A. Macdonald, and William Lyon Mackenzie King.
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