John Norquay

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Norquay

John Norquay (born May 8, 1841 in St. Andrews , Manitoba , † July 5, 1889 in Winnipeg ) was a Canadian politician . He was Prime Minister of the Province of Manitoba and ruled from October 16, 1878 to December 24, 1887. He was the first head of government born in that province.

biography

Norquay was a member of the English-speaking Métis from the Red River Colony . His parents died when he was a child so he was raised by his grandfather. He received his education from David Anderson, the Anglican Bishop of Rupert's Land . After graduating from school, he worked as a teacher himself , and later as a fur trader. Norquay was not directly involved in the Red River Rebellion of 1869/70, but transmitted messages between rebel leader Louis Riel and the Anglophone Métis. In the first election to the Manitoba Legislative Assembly in December 1870, he was elected by acclamation in the High Bluff constituency.

In parliament, Norquay soon assumed a leading position among the Anglophone Métis. In December 1871, Prime Minister Marc-Amable Girard appointed him to the provincial government as Minister for State Building and Agriculture. He took part in the general election in 1872 , but was defeated by a supporter of Riel. Due to tensions between English- and French-speaking ministers, Girard's government broke up in December 1874, and Norquay also resigned. But already in March 1875 he received a ministerial post again when Robert Atkinson Davis , Girard's successor, appointed him provincial secretary. From May 1876 he was again Minister for Public Works.

After Davis' resignation, Norquay assumed the office of Prime Minister on October 16, 1878. During his reign he tried to find a balance between the language and origin groups as well as the denominations, but in 1879 lost the support of the Catholic leader Joseph Royal after differences . Norquay saw himself as non-partisan and opposed the polarization into liberal and conservative forces. He won the elections of 1879 and turned increasingly to the issue of private railroad projects that he obstructed in favor of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

In opposition to the 20-year monopoly that the CPR claimed for itself, the Manitoba Liberal Party was formed to represent the interests of settlers and entrepreneurs. This in turn pushed Norquay to the conservatives, so that the government was de facto conservative. Canadian Prime Minister John Macdonald supported Norquay and the quasi-conservatives also won the 1886 elections. But when the provincial government changed course in 1887 and wanted to encourage the construction of several branches, Macdonald opposed Norquay, who resigned as head of government on December 24, 1887 . When David Howard Harrison failed after just three weeks and the liberal Thomas Greenway took over the office of prime minister, Norquay became the opposition leader. In the elections of 1888 he was just able to defend his seat. He died unexpectedly a year later, possibly from appendicitis.

Mount Norquay was named after him in 1904 , a 2133 meter high mountain in the immediate vicinity of the city of Banff in the province of Alberta . In 1887 or 1888, Norquay is said to have climbed the mountain himself, but did not reach the summit. The village of Norquay in eastern Saskatchewan also bears his name .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mount Norquay ( Memento of the original from May 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at peakfinder.com @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.peakfinder.com
personal data
SURNAME Norquay, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH May 8, 1841
PLACE OF BIRTH at St. Andrews , Manitoba
DATE OF DEATH July 5, 1889
Place of death Winnipeg