Thomas Heath Haviland

Thomas Heath Haviland

Thomas Heath Haviland , QC (born November 13, 1822 in Charlottetown , Prince Edward Island , † November 11, 1895 ibid) was a Canadian politician . As one of the fathers of the Confederation , he was one of the pioneers of the Canadian state founded in 1867. He was a senator from 1873 to 1879 , after which he served as Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island until 1884 .

biography

The son of Thomas Heath Haviland senior, judge and mayor of Charlottetown from 1857 to 1867, received his education in Belgium because his father found the educational opportunities on the island to be insufficient. After his return Haviland studied law and received 1846 admission as a lawyer . In the same year he was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly. He also served as director of the Bank of Prince Edward Island, notary public and colonel in the voluntary militia.

Haviland belonged to the colonial government several times: from April 1859 to November 1862, for a short time in 1865, from 1866 to 1867 and from September 1870 to April 1872. During this time he held the office of colonial secretary, with the exception of 1865, when he was Minister of Justice. He was also Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1863 to 1864 and leader of the opposition from 1867 to 1870. In October 1864 Haviland took part in the Québec Conference , where delegates from various colonies debated the creation of a federal state in British North America . When the Canadian Confederation was founded in 1867, Prince Edward Island remained independent for the time being.

A financial crisis caused by the construction of the Prince Edward Island Railway forced the colony six years later to begin accession negotiations. Haviland was a member of the negotiating delegation in Ottawa . In October 1873, three months after accession, he was appointed Senator by Prime Minister John Macdonald of Canada . At the same time he held the post of provincial secretary until 1876. He ran federal politics for almost six years. The Governor General Marquess of Lorne swore in Haviland on July 14, 1879 as Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island. He held this representative office until August 1, 1884.

Web links

• Thomas Heath Haviland . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
• Thomas Heath Haviland - biographical information on the website of the Canadian Parliament (English)
• Short biography on the website of the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Iceland (English)