Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier,  ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911.
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 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) for Quebec East in the 1874 federal election.
As an MP, Laurier gained a large personal following among French Canadians and the Québécois.
In October 1877, he was appointed as the minister of inland revenue under Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie, though only held that position for one year, as the Liberals suffered a heavy defeat in October 1878.
After the Liberals suffered a second and third consecutive defeat, Laurier became leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Official Opposition in 1887.
He lost the 1891 federal election to Prime Minister John A. Macdonald's Conservatives, but won in 1896, and paved the party to three more election victories afterwards.
The first French Canadian prime minister, Laurier was nicknamed "the Great Conciliator", offering a compromise between French and English Canada.
In the Second Boer War, the United Kingdom demanding Canadian military support divided the country as English Canada supported Britain's request whereas French Canada did not.
To solve the conflict, Laurier's government decided to send a volunteer force to fight in the war.
Another ethnic conflict arose when the UK asked Canada to send more money for ship construction for the British Navy; English Canadians wanted Canada to help the UK but French Canadians did not.
To end the dispute, Laurier's government passed the 1910 Naval Service Act to create the Royal Canadian Navy.
In addition, he was a strict nationalist who was also well-regarded for his efforts to establish Canada as an autonomous country within the British Empire.
Laurier's proposed agreement with the United States to lower tariffs became a main issue in the 1911 federal election, in which the Liberals were defeated by the Conservatives led by Robert Borden, who saw the agreement as an attempt to weaken ties with Britain and lead to the US influencing Canadian identity.
Despite his defeat, Laurier stayed on as Liberal leader and once again became leader of the Opposition.
During World War I and the 1917 federal election, Laurier campaigned against conscription during the crisis on that matter, but was again defeated by Borden.
Laurier remained Opposition leader even after his 1917 defeat, but was not able to fight in another election as he died in 1919.
Laurier is ranked among the top three of Canadian prime ministers.
At 31 years and 8 months, Laurier is the longest-serving leader of a major Canadian political party.
He is the fourth-longest serving prime minister of Canada, behind Pierre Trudeau, William Lyon Mackenzie King, and Macdonald.
Early life
The second child of Carolus Laurier and Marcelle Martineau, Wilfrid Laurier was born in Saint-Lin, Canada East (modern-day Saint-Lin-Laurentides, Quebec), on 20 November 1841.
He was a sixth-generation Canadian.
His ancestor François Cottineau, dit Champlaurier, came to Canada from Saint-Claud, France.
Laurier grew up in a family where politics was a staple of talk and debate.
His father, an educated man having liberal ideas, enjoyed a certain degree of prestige about town.
In addition to being a farmer and surveyor, he also occupied such sought-after positions as mayor, justice of the peace, militia lieutenant and school board member.
At the age of 11, Wilfrid left home to study in New Glasgow, a neighbouring village largely inhabited by immigrants from Scotland.
Over the next two years, he familiarized himself with the mentality, language and culture of British people.
Laurier attended the Collège de L'Assomption and graduated in law from McGill University in 1864.
thumb|175px|right|Laurier in 1869
Laurier was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from Drummond-Arthabaska in the 1871 Quebec general election, but resigned on 19 January 1874, to enter federal politics in the riding of Quebec East.
He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1874 election, serving briefly in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie as minister of inland revenue.
Leadership
Chosen as leader of the federal Liberal Party in 1887, he gradually built up his party's strength through his personal following both in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
He led the Liberal Party to victory in the 1896 election before leading it to three more victories in 1900, 1904, and 1908.
He remained Prime Minister until the defeat of the Liberal Party by the Conservative Party in the 1911 election.
Quebec stronghold
By 1909, Laurier had been able to build the Liberal Party a base in Quebec, which had remained a Conservative stronghold for decades due to the province's social conservatism and to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, which distrusted the Liberals' anti-clericalism.
The growing alienation of French Canadians from the Conservative Party due to its links with anti-French, anti-Catholic Orangemen in English Canada aided the Liberal Party.
These factors, combined with the collapse of the Conservative Party of Quebec, gave Laurier an opportunity to build a stronghold in French Canada and among Catholics across Canada.
Catholic priests in Quebec repeatedly warned their parishioners not to vote for Liberals.
Their slogan was "" ("heaven is blue, hell is red", referring to the Conservative and Liberal parties' traditional colours).
Prime Minister (1896–1911)
250x250px|thumb|right|Laurier, 1897 Laurier led Canada during a period of rapid growth, industrialization, and immigration.
His long career straddles a period of major political and economic change.
As prime minister, he was instrumental in ushering Canada into the 20th century and in gaining greater autonomy from Britain for his country.
Domestic events
Creation of jurisdictions
In 1905, Laurier oversaw Saskatchewan and Alberta's entry into Confederation, the last two provinces to be created out of the Northwest Territories.Library and Archives Canada.
Canadian Confederation: Alberta and Saskatchewan Entered Confederation: 1905.
Retrieved 14 December 2011.
This followed the enactment of the Yukon Territory Act by the Laurier Government in 1898, separating the Yukon from the Northwest Territories.Government of Yukon.
Yukon Historical Timeline (1886–1906).
Retrieved 14 December 2011.
Transcontinental railway
Laurier's government introduced and initiated the idea of constructing a second transcontinental railway.
The first transcontinental railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway, had limitations and was not able to meet everyone's needs.
In the West, the railway was not able to transport everything produced by farmers and in the East, the railway did not reach into northern Ontario or northern Quebec.
Laurier was in favour of a transcontinental line built entirely on Canadian land by private enterprise.
Manitoba Schools Question
One of Laurier's first acts as prime minister was to implement a solution to the Manitoba Schools Question, which had helped to bring down the Conservative government of Charles Tupper earlier in 1896.
The Manitoba legislature had passed a law eliminating public funding for Catholic schooling.
Supporters of Catholic schools argued that the new statute was contrary to the provisions of the Manitoba Act, 1870, which had a provision relating to school funding, but the courts rejected that argument and held that the new statute was constitutional.City of Winnipeg v Barrett, [1892] AC 445 (PC).
The Catholic minority in Manitoba then asked the federal government for support, and eventually, the Conservatives proposed remedial legislation to override Manitoba's legislation.
Laurier opposed the remedial legislation on the basis of provincial rights and succeeded in blocking its passage by Parliament.
Once elected, Laurier proposed a compromise stating that Catholics in Manitoba could have a Catholic education if there were enough students to warrant it (10 students in the school), known as the Laurier-Greenway Compromise, on a school-by-school basis.
This was seen by many as the best possible solution in the circumstances, making both the French and English equally satisfied.
Laurier called his effort to lessen the tinder in this issue "sunny ways" ().
Foreign policy
United Kingdom
Laurier visited the United Kingdom in 1902, and took part in the 1902 Colonial Conference and the coronation of King Edward VII on 9 August 1902.
While in Europe, he also visited France to negotiate on trade with the French government.
On June 22, 1897, Laurier attended the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, which was the 60th anniversary of her coronation.
There, he was knighted, and was given several honours, honorary degrees, and medals.
In 1899, the United Kingdom expected military support from Canada, as part of the British Empire, in the Second Boer War.
Laurier was caught between demands for support for military action from English Canada, and a strong opposition from French Canada which saw the Boer War as an "English" war and to some degree appreciated the similar places that Boers and French Canadians held in the British Empire.
Henri Bourassa was an especially vocal opponent.
Laurier eventually decided to send a volunteer force, rather than the militia expected by Britain, but Bourassa continued to oppose any form of military involvement.
Roughly 7,000 Canadian soldiers participated in the volunteer force.
The naval competition between the United Kingdom and the German Empire escalated in the early years of the 20th century.
The British asked Canada for more money and resources for ship construction, precipitating a heated political division in Canada.
The British supporters wished to send as much as possible, whereas those against wished to send nothing.
Aiming for compromise, Laurier advanced the Naval Service Act of 1910 which created the Naval Service of Canada.
The navy would initially consist of five cruisers and six destroyers; in times of crisis, it could be made subordinate to the British Royal Navy.
The idea was lauded at the 1911 Imperial Conference in London, but it proved unpopular across the political spectrum in Canada, especially in Quebec as ex-Liberal Henri Bourassa organized an anti-Laurier force.
United States
In 1897 and 1898, Laurier began bringing up the issue of the Alaska-Canada border.
The Klondike Gold Rush prompted Laurier to demand an all-Canadian route from the gold fields to a seaport.
The region being a desirable place with lots of gold furthered Laurier's ambition of fixing an exact boundary.
Laurier also wanted to establish who owned the Lynn Canal and who controlled maritime access to the Yukon.
Laurier, along with US President William McKinley, agreed to set up a joint Anglo-American commission that would study the differences and resolve the dispute.
However, this commission was unsuccessful as it came to an abrupt end on February 20, 1899.
Racial views
The British Columbia electorate was alarmed at the arrival of people they considered "uncivilized" by Canadian standards, and adopted a whites-only policy.
Although railways and large companies wanted to hire Asians, labour unions and the public at large stood opposed, and had more votes.Vic Satzewich, "Racisms: The reactions to Chinese migrants in Canada at the turn of the century."
International Sociology 4.3 (1989): 311-327.
Both major parties went along with public opinion, with Laurier taking the lead.Donald Avery, and Peter Neary, "Laurier, Borden and a White British Columbia."
Journal of Canadian Studies 12.4 (1977): 24-34.
Scholars have argued that Laurier acted in terms of his racist views in restricting immigration from China and India, as shown by his introduction of a Chinese head tax in 1900.
He had it raised to $500 in 1903, but when a few Chinese did pay the $500, he proposed raising the sum to $1000.
The same line of argument had applied as well to John Macdonald, although at first he followed the wishes of the railway companies that wanted to hire the Chinese.Timothy Stanley, "John A. Macdonald, 'the Chinese” and racist state formation in Canada."
Journal of Critical Race Inquiry 3.1 (2016).
It is a point of argument that over the course of Laurier's time as a politician, he had a history of racist views and racially charged action.
In 1886, Laurier told the House of Commons that it was moral for Canada to take lands from “savage nations” so long as they paid adequate compensation.
In 1900, Laurier raised the Chinese head tax to $100, due to a still growing influx of Chinese immigrants.
In 1903, this was further raised to $500.Lily Cho, "Rereading Chinese head tax racism: redress, stereotype, and antiracist critical practice" Essays on Canadian Writing (Issue #75. Winter 2002) pp: 62-84.
In August 1911, Wilfrid Laurier approved the order-in-council P.C. 1911-1324 recommended by Minister of the Interior, Frank Oliver and approved by the cabinet on 12 August 1911.
The order was intended to keep out Black Americans escaping segregation in the American south, stating that "the Negro race...is deemed unsuitable to the climate and requirements of Canada."
The order was never called upon, as efforts by immigration officials had already reduced the number of Blacks migrating to Canada.
The order was canceled on 5 October 1911, the day before Laurier completed his term, by cabinet claiming that the Minister of the Interior was not present at the time of approval.
Reciprocity and defeat
In 1911, another controversy arose regarding Laurier's support of trade reciprocity with the United States.
His long-serving minister of finance, William Stevens Fielding, reached an agreement allowing for the free trade of natural products.
The agreement would also lower tariffs.
This had the strong support of agricultural interests, but it alienated many businessmen who formed a significant part of the Liberals' support base.
The Conservatives denounced the deal and played on long-standing fears that reciprocity could eventually lead to weakened ties with Britain, and a submerged Canadian economy.
They also campaigned on fears that this would lead to Canadian identity being taken away from the US and lead to American annexation of Canada.
Contending with an unruly House of Commons, including vocal disapproval from Liberal MP Clifford Sifton, Laurier called an election to settle the issue of reciprocity.
The Conservatives were victorious and Robert Laird Borden succeeded Laurier as Prime Minister.
Opposition and war
225px|thumbnail|right|Election flyer for Wilfrid Laurier and the Liberal Party in the 1917 federal election Laurier led the opposition during World War I.
He led the filibuster to the Conservatives' own Naval Bill which would have sent contributions directly to the British Navy; the bill was later blocked by the Liberal-controlled Senate.
He was an influential opponent of conscription, which led to the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and the formation of a Union government, which Laurier refused to join for fear of having Quebec fall in the hands of nationalist Henri Bourassa.
However, many Liberals, particularly in English Canada, joined Borden as Liberal-Unionists and the "Laurier Liberals" were reduced to a mostly French-Canadian rump as a result of the 1917 election.
However, Laurier's last policies and efforts had not been in vain.
As a result of Laurier's opposition of conscription in 1917, Quebec and its French-Canadian voters voted overwhelmingly to support the Liberal party starting in 1917.
Despite one notable exception in 1958, the Liberal party continued to dominate federal politics in Quebec until 1984.
His protege and successor as party leader William Lyon Mackenzie King led the Liberals to a landslide victory over the Conservatives in the 1921 election.
Personal life and death
Wilfrid Laurier married Zoé Lafontaine in Montreal on 13 May 1868.
She was the daughter of G.N.R. Lafontaine and his first wife, Zoé Tessier known as Zoé Lavigne.
Laurier's wife Zoé was born in Montreal and educated there at the School of the Bon Pasteur, and at the Convent of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, St. Vincent de Paul.
The couple lived at Arthabaskaville until they moved to Ottawa in 1896.
She served as one of the vice presidents on the formation of the National Council of Women and was honorary vice president of the Victorian Order of Nurses.
The couple had no children.
Beginning in 1878 and for some twenty years while married to Zoé, Laurier had an "ambiguous relationship" with a married woman, Émilie Barthe.Réal Bélanger, Macdonald and Laurier Days  Where Zoé loved plants, animals and home life, she was not an intellectual; Émilie was, and relished literature and politics like Wilfrid, whose heart she won.
Rumour had it he fathered a son, Armand Lavergne, with her, yet Zoé remained with him until his death.
Laurier died of a stroke on 17 February 1919, while still in office as Leader of the Opposition.
Though he had lost a bitter election two years earlier, he was loved nationwide for his "warm smile, his sense of style, and his "sunny ways"."
Some 50,000 people jammed the streets of Ottawa as his funeral procession marched to his final resting place at Notre Dame Cemetery.
His remains would eventually be placed in a stone sarcophagus, adorned by sculptures of nine mourning female figures, representing each of the provinces in the union.
His wife, Zoé Laurier, died on 1 November 1921 and was placed in the same tomb.
Legacy
According to historians Norman Hillmer and Stephen Azzi, a 2011 poll of 117 historians and experts voted Laurier as the "best" Canadian prime minister, ahead of John A. Macdonald and Mackenzie King.
Laurier was ranked No. 3 of the Prime Ministers of Canada (out of the 20 through Jean Chrétien) in the survey by Canadian historians included in Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders by J.L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer.
Laurier is remembered for cultivating the common ground between the diverse elements of the country.
He located a middle way between anglophones and francophones on Canadian participation in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 and over French-language and Roman Catholic schools in Manitoba.
Laurier was lauded for his combination of "enormous style and considerable substance," in the words of historian Hector Mackenzie.
Penny Bryden of the University of Victoria drew attention to Laurier's gift for establishing "compromise as both a viable and an attractive political strategy."
Laurier established the Canadian navy and the Department of External Affairs, essential milestones on Canada's path to independence.
"Passionate, charismatic, and an intellectual force in both languages," the Canadian War Museum's Tim Cook stated, "Sir Wilfrid was the full package."
Laurier laid the foundation for Liberal party success in the 20th century.Norman Hillmerand Stephen Azzi, "Canada's Best Prime Ministers" Maclean's, 20 June 2011 Vol. 124, Issue 23.
Recognition
National historic sites
thumb|upright|Laurier Museum, Victoriaville, QC Laurier is commemorated by three National Historic Sites.
The Sir Wilfrid Laurier National Historic Site is in his birthplace, Saint-Lin-Laurentides, a town  north of Montreal, Quebec.
Its establishment reflected an early desire to not only mark his birthplace (a plaque in 1925 and a monument in 1927), but to create a shrine to Laurier in the 1930s.
Despite early doubts and later confirmation that the house designated as the birthplace was neither Laurier's nor on its original site, its development, and the building of a museum, satisfied the goal of honoring the man and reflecting his early life.Negotiating the Past: The Making of Canada's National Historic Parks and Sites: (Montreal & Kingston, 1990), C.J. Taylor, pp.
119–21.
His brick residence in Ottawa is known as Laurier House National Historic Site, at the corner of what is now Laurier Avenue and Chapel Street.
In their will, the Lauriers left the house to Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who in turn donated it to Canada upon his death.
Both sites are administered by Parks Canada as part of the national park system.
The 1876 Italianate residence of the Lauriers during his years as a lawyer and Member of Parliament, in Victoriaville, Quebec, is designated Wilfrid Laurier House National Historic Site, owned privately and operated as the Laurier Museum.
In November 2011, Wilfrid Laurier University located in Waterloo, Ontario, unveiled a statue depicting a young Wilfrid Laurier sitting on a bench, thinking.The Cord Newspaper Other honours
Laurier had titular honours including:
the prenominal "The Honourable" and the postnominal "PC" for life by virtue of being made a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on 8 October 1877.
His prenominal was upgraded to "The Right Honourable" when he was made a member of the Imperial Privy Council of the United Kingdom in the 1897 Diamond Jubilee Honours
the prenominal "Sir" and postnominal "GCMG" as a knight grand cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, bestowed in the 1897 Diamond Jubilee Honours
The honorary degree LL.D. from the University of Edinburgh and the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh on 26 July 1902, when he visited the city while in the country for the coronation of King Edward VII.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day is observed each year on 20 November, his birth dateSir Wilfrid Laurier Day Act, 2002
Laurier is depicted on several banknotes issued by the Bank of Canada:
The $1,000 note in the 1935 Series and 1937 Series
The $5 note in the Scenes of Canada series, 1972 and 1979, Birds of Canada series, 1986, Journey series, 2002 and Frontier series, 2013
Laurier has appeared on at least three postage stamps, issued in 1927 (two) and 1973
Many sites and landmarks were named to honor Laurier.
They include:
Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the highest peak in British Columbia's Premier Range, near Mount Robson
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary, located in Vancouver, British Columbia
Laurier Avenue, located in Milton, Ontario
Avenue Laurier, located in Shawinigan, Quebec
Laurier Boulevard, and Laurier Hill, located in Brockville, Ontario
Avenue Laurier, located in Montreal, Quebec
Boulevard Laurier, located in Quebec City, Quebec
Laurier Avenue, located in Ottawa, Ontario
Laurier Avenue, located in Deep River, Ontario
Laurier Street, located in North Bay, Ontario
Rue Laurier, located in Casselman, Ontario
Rue Laurier Street, located in Rockland, Ontario
The Laurier Heights neighbourhood, including Laurier Drive and Laurier Heights School, in Edmonton, Alberta
Laurier Drive, located in Saskatoon's Confederation Park neighbourhood, where the majority of the streets are named after former Canadian prime ministers
The provincial electoral district of Laurier-Dorion (an honour shared with Canadian politician Antoine-Aimé Dorion)
The federal electoral district of Laurier—Sainte-Marie
On 1 November 1973, Waterloo Lutheran University, one of Ontario's publicly funded universities, located in Waterloo, Ontario, was renamed Wilfrid Laurier University; the university has since added a campus in Brantford, Ontario
A Montreal Metro station, Laurier (Montreal Metro)
CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Chateau Laurier, a downtown Ottawa hotel of high reputation and a national historic site
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Public School in Markham, Ontario
Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board, an English school board located in Quebec; the school board serves the Laval, Laurentides, and Lanaudière regions in Quebec
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School in London, Ontario
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School in Ottawa, Ontario
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, Ontario
Supreme Court appointments
Wilfrid Laurier advised the Governor General to appoint the following individuals to the Supreme Court of Canada:
Sir Louis Henry Davies (25 September 1901 – 1 May 1924)
David Mills (8 February 1902 – 8 May 1903)
Sir Henri Elzéar Taschereau (as Chief Justice 21 November 1902 – 2 May 1906; appointed a Puisne Justice under Prime Minister Mackenzie, 7 October 1878)
John Douglas Armour (21 November 1902 – 11 July 1903)
Wallace Nesbitt (16 May 1903 – 4 October 1905)
Albert Clements Killam (8 August 1903 – 6 February 1905)
John Idington (10 February 1905 – 31 March 1927)
James Maclennan (5 October 1905 – 13 February 1909)
Sir Charles Fitzpatrick (as Chief Justice, 4 June 1906 – 21 November 1918)
Sir Lyman Poore Duff (27 September 1906 – 2 January 1944)
Francis Alexander Anglin (23 February 1909 – 28 February 1933)
Louis-Philippe Brodeur (11 August 1911 – 10 October 1923)
In popular culture
Wilfrid Laurier appears as the leader of the Canadian civilization in the 4X video game Sid Meier's Civilization VI.Canada is Civ 6’s latest arrival, and they’re too nice to declare surprise wars.
PCGamesN.
Retrieved 17 December 2020.
See also
List of Canadian Prime Ministers
8th Canadian Ministry
1896 Canadian federal election
1900 Canadian federal election
1904 Canadian federal election
1908 Canadian federal election
1911 Canadian federal election
List of Canadian federal general elections
References
Further reading
Armstrong, Elizabeth H. The Crisis of Quebec, 1914–1918 (1937)
Avery, Donald, and Peter Neary.
"Laurier, Borden and a White British Columbia."
Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'etudes canadiennes 12.4 (1977): 24.
Bélanger, Réal.
"Laurier, Sir Wilfrid," Dictionary of Canadian Biography vol. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–.
Retrieved 6 November 2015, online
Brown, Craig, and Ramsay Cook, Canada: 1896–1921 A Nation Transformed (1983), standard history
Cook, Ramsay.
"Dafoe, Laurier, and the Formation of Union Government."
Canadian Historical Review 42#3 (1961) pp: 185–208.
Dafoe, J. W. Laurier: A Study in Canadian Politics (1922)
Dutil, Patrice, and David MacKenzie, Canada, 1911: The Decisive Election that Shaped the Country (2011)
Granatstein, J.L. and Norman Hillmer, Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders.
pp.
46–60.
(1999). .
LaPierre, Laurier.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the Romance of Canada – (1996).
Neatby, H. Blair.
Laurier and a Liberal Quebec: A Study in Political Management (1973)
Neatby, H. Blair.
"Laurier and imperialism."
Report of the Annual Meeting.
Vol. 34. No.
1. The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada, 1955.
online
Robertson, Barbara.
Wilfrid Laurier: The Great Conciliator (1971)
Schull, Joseph.
Laurier.
The First Canadian (1965); biography
Skelton, Oscar Douglas.
Life and Letters of Sir Wilfrid Laurier 2v (1921); the standard biography v. 2 online free
Skelton, Oscar Douglas.
The Day of Sir Wilfrid Laurier A Chronicle of our own Times (1916), short popular survey online free
Stewart, Gordon T. "Political Patronage under Macdonald and Laurier 1878–1911."
American Review of Canadian Studies 10#1 (1980): 3–26.
Stewart, Heather Grace.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier: the weakling who stood his ground (2006) ; for children
Waite, Peter Busby, Canada, 1874–1896: Arduous Destiny (1971), standard history
External links
Wilfrid Laurier fonds at Library and Archives Canada.
Wilfrid Laurier on the platform; collection of the principal speeches made in Parliament or before the people, since his entry into active politics in 1871; by Wilfrid Laurier at archive.org
Life and letters of Sir Wilfrid Laurier vol 1.
at archive.org
Life and letters of Sir Wilfrid Laurier vol 2.
at archive.org
Photograph: Wilfrid Laurier, 1890 – McCord Museum
Photograph: Sir Wilfrid Laurier, c. 1900 – McCord Museum
Photograph: Wilfrid Laurier, 1906 – McCord Museum
The 8th Canadian Ministry - the Parliamentary website.
Category:1841 births Category:1919 deaths Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Canadian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
