Robert Beaven

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Robert Beaven

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

biography

The son of an Anglican pastor emigrated to Upper Canada with his family in 1843 . First he lived in Toronto , moved at the beginning of the 1860s during the Cariboo Gold Rush of Vancouver Iceland and settled in the city of Victoria with his wife down. There he managed 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 United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia to join the Canadian Confederation . Beaven was the secretary of this association, led by Amor De Cosmos and John Robson . British Columbia finally joined the state on July 20, 1871 as the sixth province. In October of the same year, Beaven was elected as a member of the Victoria constituency in the first election to the British Columbia Legislative Assembly.

From December 1872 to February 1876 Beaven was a member of the cabinet of Prime Ministers Amor De Cosmos and George Anthony Walkem . His main task as minister was the development of the crown land and the provision of infrastructure for the increasing number of immigrants. The opposition accused him of being corrupt and incompetent. When Walkem was again head of government in June 1878, he appointed Beaven Minister of Finance and Agriculture.

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

Beaven remained a member of parliament and was opposition leader. He was mayor of Victoria in 1892, 1893 and 1896. In the elections in July 1894 he lost his seat in parliament. Over time he had identified himself more and more with the labor movement, which was met with little enthusiasm in his conservative constituency.

In August 1898, Lieutenant Governor Thomas Robert McInnes dismissed Prime Minister John Herbert Turner and asked Beaven to form a new government, even though he had not been a member of parliament for four years. Leading parliamentarians refused to support and Beaven was unable to put together a government with a majority.

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personal data
SURNAME Beaven, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 20, 1836
PLACE OF BIRTH Leigh at Stoke-on-Trent , Staffordshire
DATE OF DEATH September 18, 1920
Place of death Victoria (British Columbia)