The Canada that Laurier Built
November 20, 2008
By the Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien
The first French Canadian Prime Minister. A tireless champion of national unity. A visionary who opened Canada’s doors to world and settled the West. A pioneer of Canadian independence. An avatar of Canadian values. The captain who steered a young nation into the promise of a new century.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier is certainly all these things and more. It’s hard to imagine what our country would be today without his singular contribution.
Like every Canadian, I owe him a debt. But all through my life Laurier has had an even deeper and more personal influence on me.
He was close to a secular saint in our household. As a young man, my father, Wellie, had shaken Laurier’s hand – an experience he cherished for the rest of his long life, For me, a young boy growing up in rural Quebec, a unilingual francophone growing up in a country whose power structure was decidedly – and almost uniquely English-speaking – Laurier was an inspiration and ideal, Much in the same way that the election of Barack Obama is inspiring all young children to dream today of exciting and unlimited opportunities, Laurier, a rural francophone, who rose to lead an overwhelmingly Anglo-Saxon Canadian society, was an example to me.
And through my forty years in public life, he was a guiding light and constant presence. No more so than during the decade that I was privileged to lead our country as Prime Minister.
Canada was envisioned by the Fathers of Confederation as a partnership between the English and French founding cultures. That vision truly became a reality in the 1896 election. Laurier, the rural Quebecer from St-Lin, became Canada’s first French-speaking prime minister. Laurier was a flesh-and-blood symbol to French Canadians that they had a place of respect in Canada, even if they were and would remain a minority.
Laurier truly believed in the promise of Canada, and he inspired Canadians to make that promise a reality by calling on them to look beyond their particular region, language, or religion. Laurier believed that Canadian unity could be built on diversity, rather than sameness.
Laurier took over a country torn apart by divisions between English and French, Catholics and Protestants, over the Manitoba Schools Question. On this issue and many others, he rejected the extreme views on both sides because he understood that a nation as diverse and far-flung as Canada could not survive that kind of polarization. He believed, as do I, that our country is better served by pragmatism rather than ideology, by compromise rather than conflict. This approach earned him many followers, but also many detractors notably among Henri Bourassa’s nationalists and the Protestant Orange Order. As he said in 1911, "I am branded in Quebec as a traitor to the French and in Ontario as a traitor to the English.... [But] I am a Canadian."
From 1993 to 2003, the desk in my office on Parliament Hill was Laurier’s own. His portrait hung on the wall. I often found myself wondering, when facing the difficult questions of the day, how to apply his lessons and wisdom. Many of Laurier’s ideas remain as relevant as ever to today’s politics. His wisdom, now a century old, is surprisingly modern.
Laurier was ahead of his time in recognizing the emancipating and lifting power of liberalized trade. Just as he crashed barriers in his own life, he worked hard to bring down the walls and fences of protectionism. He understood that Canada’s true economic promise could only be achieved by opening itself to the world.
But at the same time, he was a fierce and courageous advocate of Canadian independence. For a young country, still very much in the shadow of the British Empire, that was a daunting and audacious stance, In his time many - if not most - English-speaking Canadians felt themselves more British than Canadian. But Laurier resisted attempts, both at home and abroad, to weave Canada ever more tightly with the Empire. He put it simply, clearly, unmistakably: “Canada first, Canada last, Canada always”.
Laurier saw a positive role for government in nation-building. He built Canada’s second transcontinental railroad to strengthen the ties that bind us together. He created two new provinces, Saskatchewan and Alberta, in 1905. He opened up the West to settlers, including French Quebecers such as my maternal grandfather, who went out to a farm north of Edmonton in 1907. He also encouraged immigration to Canada to inhabit our sparsely-populated country. Faced with the current market downturn, Laurier would ask what government can do through smart policies on infrastructure, regulation and immigration to strengthen our economy.
People often forget that Laurier had opposed Confederation at first, but once he became convinced of the merits of the new arrangement, he became the most ardent Canadian of his era. It’s no wonder that Laurier often called Canada the inspiration of his life. Just as he transformed Canada, so too was he transformed by it.
Laurier imagined Canada as a strong, independent country whose voice would be heard on the international stage, and the first modern nation to celebrate diversity, tolerance, and generosity. He built a country in this image through his four terms as prime minister.
It’s often said that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. I know that as a Canadian, and as someone who has had the honour of serving our country in so many capacities, including its highest elected office, I thank fortune that Wilfrid Laurier’s shoulders were so broad and solid.
