Harlan Carey Brewster

Harlan Carey Brewster

Harlan Carey Brewster (born November 10, 1870 in Harvey, New Brunswick , † March 1, 1918 in Calgary ) was a Canadian politician . From 1912 until his death he was chairman of the British Columbia Liberal Party , from November 23, 1916 Prime Minister of the Province of British Columbia .

biography

In his native New Brunswick, Brewster worked in his father's shipyard and later as a printer in Boston . In 1893 he moved to British Columbia and worked as a purser on a coastal steamship and as a post office manager on Meares Island . In 1902 he was involved in founding the Clayoquot Sound Canning Company fish processing company and was later its manager .

Brewster was elected to the Alberni Constituency in the November 1909 elections to the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, and in the same year he joined the Freemasons . He ran unsuccessfully in March 1912 against incumbent Conservative Prime Minister Richard McBride . Not a single liberal managed to get elected. After this severe election defeat, the Liberals selected Brewster as the new party chairman. With the victory in a by-election in March 1916 he moved back into the provincial parliament and in September 1916 he led his party to a clear election victory.

On November 23, 1916, Brewster took office as Prime Minister. His government introduced women's suffrage and alcohol prohibition at the provincial level . When the Treasury Secretary died in February 1917, Brewster also took over his duties. At the end of February 1918 he was in Ottawa at a conference of the Canadian heads of government. On his return trip, he developed pneumonia and died in a Calgary hospital.

Web links

• Harlan Carey Brewster . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
• Harlan Carey Brewster ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
• Short Biography - Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon