Canadian Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier

Laurier stands as a pivotal figure in Canadian history. In writing his biography, Joseph Schull chose to call him "the first Canadian." Schull's contention is that the problems and issues which Laurier was forced to deal with are the same thorny issues which plague Canada today. The way in which Laurier and his opponents responded to these critical issues shaped how Canada was to deal with them for decades. Questions surrounding the relations of church and state, the French and English, Canada and the United States, and the place of Canada within the Commonwealth were significantly influenced by Laurier's politics (Schul

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es. In contrast to the British Liberals, Laurier did not seek to expand the functions of the state (Underhill in Berger 70). Underhill's critical assessment helps to frame both the causes and reasons for Laurier's defeat in 1911. Laurier's contention as a Quebecois politician was that the survival of French Canada was best ensured by maintaining its individuality within federal Canada (Watkins 207). As a member of the Liberal party, Laurier attacked the "jingoism of the turn-of-the-century contemporaries" (Watkins 312). In an attempt to avoid the political fray of the early 20th century, Laurier declared in a parliament speech: There is a school in England and in Canada, a school which is perhaps best represented on the floor of the Parliament, a school which wants to bring Canada into the vortex of militarism which is the curse, blight of Europe. I am not prepared to endorse any such policy (Laurier in Watkins 312). Laurier was a statesman who, upon the right issues, could hold firm when he so desired. Laurier was acutely aware that the Liberals was a somewhat raggedy union of disparate political factions. The Liberals were comprised of the anticlerical Rogues, the Reformers from Ontario and generally all those wh
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Approximate Word count = 2769
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)