Wilfrid Laurier

:Laurier re-directs here. For the Canadian federal electoral district see Laurier (electoral district). For the university in Waterloo, Ontario, see Wilfrid Laurier University.

Still the Greatest?

Laurier's greatest failing was, perhaps, his ambitious railway schemes. John A. Macdonald had had great success building a national railway and in many ways Laurier wished to match him and began constructing a second national railway. This and other railway schemes were a financial disaster.

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In 1905, Laurier oversaw Saskatchewan and Alberta's entry into Confederation, the last two provinces to be created out of the Northwest Territories. In 1910, Laurier introduced the Naval Service Bill to create an independent Canadian navy, but Bourassa attacked him again over this issue, saying that Britain would simply call on the Canadian navy whenever it felt necessary. However, imperialists in English Canada were opposed to attempts to remove Canada from Britain's influence.

Related Topics:
1905 - Saskatchewan - Alberta - Confederation - Northwest Territories - 1910 - Canadian navy - Imperialists

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