Wilfrid Laurier: The Rebel Nationalist in Power (Part 2)

Wilfrid Laurier: The Rebel Nationalist in Power (Part 2)

Commentary Read Part 1 of this article here. Wilfrid Laurier, 26 years old when Canada was reborn as a federal Dominion in 1867, was a radical Rouge who opposed Confederation. But by 1896 he was prime minister of Canada. Did his victory and ascent to the chief executive office represent a coup d’état by the Rouge element of Quebec liberalism? To some extent it did. In another way, his achievement was to bequeath to his successor, William Lyon Ma…