1. Canadian History 1201

2. A Personal Profile  Born November 20, 1841  French-Canadian from Quebec  Became Prime Minister July 11, 1896  Leader of the Liberal Party

3.   In power for 15 years  The first French-Canadian Prime Minister  Known for his honesty, courage and sense of fair play  Excellent speaker  National unity was very important to him personally A Personal Profile

4.   Tried to work out compromises to encourage French- English relations  Knighted by the Queen (hence the “ Sir ” ); though he did not want it  Was against conscription  Was determined to maintain Canada ’ s control over her destiny in spite of Britain’s wish to the contrary A Personal Profile

5.   Worldwide depression of the 1890s was over  Nation experienced unprecedented growth  Immigration expanded especially in the West  This led to the creation of two new provinces in 1905: Alberta and Saskatchewan  Railways were expanded and two continental lines were built “ Golden Age of Laurier ”

6.   Factories opened which created new employment and provided new markets for Canadian products  Efforts were made to reach compromises on those decisions affecting French and English Canadians “ Golden Age of Laurier ”

7.  Sir Wilfrid

8.   Canada had to establish its own national identity  Divisions between the French and English grew more intense  Extent and nature of Canada ’ s participation in the wars of the British Empire was hotly disputed (Boer War) The Challenges

9.  The Naval Service Bill  Alaska Boundary Dispute  Reciprocity