Louis Henry Davies

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Louis Henry Davies

Sir Louis Henry Davies , PC , KCMG , QC (born May 4, 1845 in Charlottetown , Prince Edward Island , † May 1, 1924 in Ottawa , Ontario ) was a Canadian judge and politician . He was Prime Minister of Prince Edward Island from 1876 to 1879 and led a liberal-conservative coalition government. For 19 years he was a member of the House of Commons for the Liberal Party of Canada , and from 1896 to 1901 he was Minister of Fisheries. He was then appointed to the Supreme Court , to which he belonged until his death, from 1918 as its chairman ( Chief Justice ).

Provincial politics

The son of Benjamin Davies, a politician and shipping entrepreneur, attended schools in Charlottetown and then went to London to study law at the Inner Temple . In 1866 he was admitted as a lawyer . Davies earned a reputation for being an excellent public speaker and cricketer . In 1872 he was elected to the legislative assembly. In vain did he oppose the island's accession to the Canadian Confederation .

The Prince Edward Island Liberal Party elected Davies as its chairman in 1874. In the provincial parliament he pushed through an improvement of the land reform law. This enabled tenants to acquire parcels of land from the British "absentee landlords", the aristocratic landowners who did not live on the island, at significantly better conditions. Davies also led the drafting of a new school law that removed the denominational segregation of schools and placed them under the control of the provincial government.

In August 1876, the conservative provincial government of Lemuel Owen broke up at this dispute. Davies then formed a coalition government supported by Protestant MPs from the Liberal and Conservative Party. At the same time he took over the office of Attorney General . In 1877 the government enforced the school law against the will of the Catholics. After that, the coalition government came under increasing pressure and was finally overthrown on March 6, 1879 by a vote of no confidence. Davies did not stand for election and remained head of government until April 25th.

Federal politics

In the 1882 general election , Davies was elected MP in the Queen's County constituency. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada , which was then in the opposition. After Wilfrid Laurier became party chairman, Davies became one of his key strategic advisors. Davies was able to benefit from his own experience in Prince Edward Island, particularly in finding a compromise in the Manitoba school dispute.

The Liberals won the general election in 1896 and now formed the government. Laurier, the new Prime Minister, appointed Davies Minister for Fisheries. This office, which he took up on July 13, 1896, was of great importance for the maritime provinces . As a minister, he also traveled several times to negotiate abroad on other topics, for example to Washington for talks on a trade agreement or to London for the Reich Conference . Queen Victoria knighted him in 1897.

Supreme Court

On September 24, 1901, Davies was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada by Prime Minister Laurier . Various lawyers criticized this decision because they considered him too inexperienced and too neutral on political issues. Indeed, in contemporary opinion, Davies often lacked independence. He was reputed to be a formalistic minimalist, and his judgments rarely challenged the decisions of the lower courts.

After the resignation of Charles Fitzpatrick , Davies applied for the position of Chief Justice . Prime Minister Robert Borden struggled to get his cabinet appointment, but Davies was finally able to take office on November 23, 1918. Five and a half years later, he died at the age of 78 without having set any particular accents.

See also

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personal data
SURNAME Davies, Louis Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian judge and politician, Chairman of the Supreme Court and Prime Minister of Prince Edward Island
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH Charlottetown
DATE OF DEATH May 1, 1924
Place of death Ottawa