Robert Beaven

Robert Beaven ( born January 20, 1836 in Leigh at Stoke -on-Trent, Staffordshire, † September 18, 1920 in Victoria ) was a Canadian politician and businessman. He was from June 1882 to January 1883 Prime Minister of the Province of British Columbia. For three years he was mayor of Victoria.

Biography

The son of an Anglican priest in 1843 emigrated with his family to Upper Canada from. He first lived in Toronto, moved to the beginning of the 1860s during the Cariboo Gold Rush to Vancouver Iceland and settled with his wife settled in the city of Victoria. There he headed the local branch of a sewing machine factory and owned a clothes shop.

In May 1868, he co-founded the Confederation League, which called for the accession of the United Colonies of Vancouver Iceland and British Columbia to the Canadian Confederation. Beaven was the secretary of Amor De Cosmos this guided and John Robson Association. British Columbia eventually joined on 20 July 1871 as a sixth province in the state. In October of the same year Beaven was elected as an MP for the constituency of Victoria in the first elections to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

From December 1872 to February 1876 was Beaven in the cabinets of Prime Minister Amor De Cosmos and George Anthony Walkem. Its main function as a minister were the development of crown land and the provision of infrastructure for the growing number of immigrants. The opposition accused him of being corrupt and incompetent. As Walkem in June 1878 head of government was again, he appointed Beaven for Finance and Minister of Agriculture.

After Walkems resignation Lieutenant Governor Clement Francis Cornwall Beaven appointed on June 13, 1882 the new Prime Minister. His previous ministerial position he continued to practice from. In the subsequent elections in July 1882, supporters of the government missed the majority of the seats (at that time there were no parties ), but Beaven decided to form a minority government. For three months, he was the host of Lord Argyll, the Governor General of Canada. On January 29, 1883 Beaven lost a vote of no confidence and had to resign.

Beaven remained deputy and was leader of the opposition. In the years 1892, 1893 and 1896 he was mayor of the city of Victoria. In the elections in July 1894, he lost his parliamentary seat. He had always strongly identified with the time with the labor movement, which came in his conservative constituency with little enthusiasm.

In August 1898 Lieutenant Governor Thomas Robert McInnes dismissed Prime Minister John Herbert Turner and asked Beaven to form a new government, although he no longer belonged to the Parliament for four years. Leading MPs refused to support and Beaven was not able to put together a majority government capable.