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Concept
Wilfrid Laurier
Summary
Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, (ˈlɒrieɪ ; 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 unbroken 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.
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