Who was Sir Wilfrid Laurier?
Answer
Canada's seventh Prime Minister (1896 to 1911), the first francophone Prime Minister, who oversaw the addition of Alberta and Saskatchewan to Confederation in 1905.
Explanation
Sir Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 to February 17, 1919) was Canada's seventh Prime Minister and the first Prime Minister of French-Canadian descent. He served as Prime Minister from July 11, 1896 to October 6, 1911, the longest unbroken term of any Canadian Prime Minister (15 years, three months). Laurier was a Liberal and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1887 to 1919.
Laurier was born in Saint-Lin, Canada East (now Quebec) and trained as a lawyer at McGill University before entering politics in 1871 (Quebec Legislative Assembly) and 1874 (federal House of Commons). He led the Liberal Party from 1887 and became Prime Minister in 1896 after the Conservatives split over the Manitoba Schools question. Laurier's electoral coalition combined Quebec support, English-Canadian Protestant support, and prairie Liberal supporters into a national majority that won four consecutive elections (1896, 1900, 1904, 1908).
Laurier's government oversaw the rapid expansion and transformation of Canada. The provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created on September 1, 1905 (the eighth and ninth provinces). The Canadian Pacific Railway's Crowsnest Pass branch and the National Transcontinental Railway expansions opened the West. Massive immigration (about 3 million immigrants between 1896 and 1914) populated the prairies, with Laurier's Minister of the Interior Clifford Sifton recruiting European farmers. Laurier signed the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty with the United States, establishing the International Joint Commission to manage Canada-US water issues.
Laurier's government fell in the 1911 federal election over reciprocity (a free-trade agreement with the United States that Laurier negotiated but Canadian voters rejected). Laurier remained Liberal leader and led the Opposition through the First World War, opposing conscription on national-unity grounds. He died in 1919 shortly after the war and is buried in Notre-Dame Cemetery in Ottawa. Laurier's legacy includes his famous 1904 declaration that 'the twentieth century shall be the century of Canada and of Canadian development', his ability to bridge French-English divisions, and his championship of moderate liberalism. His face appears on the Canadian five-dollar bill since the 1937 series.
Why this matters for your test
Sir Wilfrid Laurier was the first French-Canadian Prime Minister and the longest-serving Liberal leader. Recognising his 1896 to 1911 tenure and the 1905 Saskatchewan and Alberta provinces gives candidates two specific anchors.
Source: Library and Archives Canada; Dictionary of Canadian Biography
