Who was Sir Robert Borden?
Answer
Canada's eighth Prime Minister (1911 to 1920), a Conservative who led Canada through the First World War and signed the Treaty of Versailles independently of Britain.
Explanation
Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 to June 10, 1937) was Canada's eighth Prime Minister and led Canada through the First World War. He served as Prime Minister from October 10, 1911 to July 10, 1920. Borden was a Conservative and led the Conservative Party from 1901 to 1920. His Cabinet during the war was reconstituted as a Union government in October 1917, combining Conservatives with conscription-supporting Liberals to form a national wartime coalition.
Borden was born in Grand Pré, Nova Scotia and trained as a lawyer. He led the Conservative Party from 1901 and became Prime Minister after defeating Wilfrid Laurier in the 1911 federal election (fought primarily over reciprocity with the United States). Borden's pre-war agenda included naval expansion (the 1910 Naval Service Act and the proposed Naval Aid Bill of 1912 to 1913 would have funded three battleships for the Royal Navy), civil service reform, and Senate reform.
The First World War defined Borden's tenure. About 620,000 Canadians served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the war; about 60,000 died and 173,000 were wounded. Major Canadian engagements included Vimy Ridge (April 9 to 12, 1917), Passchendaele (October to November 1917), Hill 70 (August 1917), and the Hundred Days Offensive (August to November 1918). Borden introduced the Military Service Act of August 29, 1917 (the Conscription Act), which deeply divided English and French Canada and triggered the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and the Quebec Easter Riots of 1918.
Borden's wartime government also expanded federal power considerably. The federal income tax was introduced in 1917 (originally as a temporary wartime measure) under the Income War Tax Act. The federal vote was extended to women serving in the armed forces and the female relatives of soldiers (Wartime Elections Act of 1917) and to most Canadian women (Act to confer the Electoral Franchise upon Women, 1918). After the war Borden represented Canada at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, signed the Treaty of Versailles independently from Britain (a key step in Canadian sovereignty), and secured separate Canadian membership in the new League of Nations. Borden retired in July 1920 and was succeeded by Arthur Meighen. He is buried in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa.
Why this matters for your test
Sir Robert Borden led Canada through the First World War, an event that transformed the country. Recognising his 1911 to 1920 tenure and the independent signing of the Treaty of Versailles gives candidates two specific anchors.
Source: Library and Archives Canada; Dictionary of Canadian Biography
