Charles Tupper

Sir Charles Tupper, GCMG, CB, PC, ( born July 2, 1821 in Amherst, Nova Scotia, † October 30, 1915 in Bexleyheath, England) was the sixth Prime Minister of Canada. He was a member of the Conservative party to and had the shortest tenure of any Canadian Prime Minister: It lasted only 69 days, from May 1 to July 8, 1896 As one of the Fathers of Confederation, he is among the pioneers of the Canadian federal government established in 1867. .

Biography

Tupper studied medicine at Edinburgh University in Scotland and received his doctorate in 1843. In 1846 he married Frances Morse ( 1826-1912 ), with whom he had three sons and three daughters. The second eldest son, Charles Hibbert Tupper, was justice minister under Mackenzie Bowell, the predecessor of his father. The youngest son, William Johnston Tupper, was from 1934 to 1940 Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba.

1855 Tupper was elected to the Parliament the British colony of Nova Scotia. He was a member of the Confederation Party, which advocated the Nova Scotia's Connection to the Canadian confederation. From 1864 until joining the Confederacy in 1867 he was the prime minister of the province. Tupper attended the Charlottetown Conference, the Quebec Conference and the London Conference; as one of the Fathers of Confederation, he is thus one of the pioneers of the Canadian state. 1872 appointed him Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald to head the national tax authority. 1873 Tupper was Minister of Customs for a short time until the Pacific scandal brought down the government.

After the general election in 1878 the Conservatives returned to power, and Tupper became Minister of Public Works. In this role, he brought the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in a vital way. From 1884 to 1887 he was Canadian High Commissioner in the UK (equivalent to the post of ambassador ). Then he returned to Canada and became finance minister. But a year later he again took over the Office of the High Commissioner.

1896 Mackenzie Bowell was forced to resign due to a serious government crisis by the Office of the Prime Minister. The Conservative Party agreed to Tupper as his successor. His job was to lead the party to electoral victory in the same year. Although the Conservatives reached at the general election in 1896 46.5 % of the vote and the Liberals only 45%, but the latter had won more seats due to the electoral system. After only 69 days Tupper was forced to resign in favor of Wilfrid Laurier.

1901 Tupper resigned as a Member of Parliament and finally moved to England. He died at the age of 94 in Bexleyheath, Kent (now part of London). His remains were transferred to Halifax in Nova Scotia.