Alfred Boyd

Alfred Boyd

Alfred Boyd (* 1836 in England ; † August 16, 1908 ibid) was a Canadian politician and businessman . From September 16, 1870 to December 14, 1871, he was the first head of government in the province of Manitoba . The office of prime minister in today's sense did not yet exist, which is why he was referred to as provincial secretary .

biography

Nothing certain is known about Boyd's origins and his youth. It is believed that he appeared in Rupert's Land from around 1858 . He was a trader in the Red River Colony and made a sizable fortune. He stayed out of politics, including in 1869 during the Red River Rebellion . Nevertheless, he was elected in January 1870 to the 40-member council that rebel leader Louis Riel had convened and which should decide the fate of the Red River Colony. Boyd spoke out against Riel as chairman, was against the establishment of a new province and preferred the status of a territory.

After the end of the uprising and the founding of the province of Manitoba on June 15, 1870, Lieutenant Governor Adams, George Archibald Boyd, was appointed provincial secretary, a kind of informal head of government. In the first election to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba on December 27, 1870, Boyd prevailed in the constituency of St. Andrew's North. A month later, Archibald also appointed him Minister for State Building Projects and Minister of Agriculture. Boyd had to put up with criticism on various occasions. Newly arriving settlers from Ontario complained about a lack of prisons and bridges, and his predominantly English-speaking voters disapproved of the construction work in the French-speaking community of Saint-Boniface and his approval of the establishment of a Roman Catholic diocese.

In the face of this increasing pressure, Boyd decided on December 9, 1871, to resign. He moved to the Northwest Territories and was one of the founding members of the temporary parliament in December 1872. He belonged to this until its dissolution in November 1876. From March to October 1873 he was temporarily a member of the Manitoba government as Minister of Education. After his second resignation, he did not seek re-election there. Boyd moved back to England around 1889, where he acquired numerous properties. At his death the property was valued at £ 83,000.

Web links

• Alfred Boyd . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
• Alfred Boyd ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
• Article Alfred Boyd of the Manitoba Historical Society