Sir Robert Laird Borden, lawyer, politician, prime minister of Canada, 1911-20 (b at Grand Pré, NS 26 June 1854; d at Ottawa 10 June 1937). The eighth prime minister of Canada, Borden was a Halifax lawyer, leader of the Liberal-Conservative Party 1901-20, architect of the Conservative victory in the "Reciprocity Election" of 1911, PM during WWI and a leading figure in the achievement of "Dominion Status" and the transition from the British Empire to the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Borden was a self-made man. After a brief formal education, he spent 5 years teaching at private academies in Nova Scotia and New Jersey. Returning to NS in 1874 to article in law, he was admitted to the bar in 1878 and by 1890 headed a prestigious Halifax law firm. He was elected to Parliament in 1896 and in 1901 was selected by the Conservative caucus to succeed Sir Charles Tupper as leader of the Liberal-Conservative Party. Over the next decade he worked to rebuild the Conservative Party and establish a reform policy (the Halifax Platform of 1907).

In 1911 he led the opposition to the Reciprocity Agreement negotiated by Sir Wilfrid Laurier's government with the US and forced a general election. By skilful political management Borden brought together a coalition of anti-Laurier groups (Liberal businessmen opposed to Reciprocity, French Canadian Nationalistes opposed to the Naval Service Act, Conservative provincial administrations and his own parliamentary party) which defeated the Liberal Party.

Borden's leadership during WWI was remarkable. At home, his wartime government was responsible for the Emergency War Measures Act (1914), the first measures of direct taxation by the Ottawa government (the Wartime Business Profits Tax, 1916, and the "temporary" Income Tax, 1917), the nationalization of the Canadian Northern Railway as the first step in the creation of the CNR and, after the collapse of the voluntary recruiting system, the Military Service Act, 1917. Conscription was accompanied by the creation of a union government of pro-conscriptionist Conservatives and Liberals which won the bitterly contested general election of 1917.

Overseas, the Canadian Expeditionary Force grew from one division to a full Canadian Corps commanded after 1917 by a Canadian, Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur William Currie. Borden believed that the distinguished record of the CEF at Ypres, Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele and in the final 100 days was the ultimate proof of the maturity of Canadian nationhood.

Principal author of Resolution IX of the Imperial War Conference of 1917, he argued that Canada and the other dominions deserved recognition "as autonomous nations of an Imperial Commonwealth." As leader of the Canadian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, he was primarily responsible for international recognition of the autonomous status of the Dominions.

Borden retired as PM in 1920. In his last years he was recognized as an international statesman and firm advocate of the League of Nations. He pursued a successful career in business and served as chancellor of Queen's 1924-30.

Bibliography

Borden, Robert Laird, Sir. Canada in the Commonwealth: From Conflict to Co-operation. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1929.

---. Canadian Constitutional Studies: The Marfleet Lectures, University of Toronto, October, 1921. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1922.

---. Letters to Limbo. 2 v. Henry Borden, ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971.

---. Robert Laird Borden: His Memoirs. 2 v. Henry Borden, ed. Toronto: Macmillan, 1938.

Brown, Robert Craig. Robert Laird Borden: A Biography. 2 v. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1975-1980.

Author ROBERT CRAIG BROWN


Reproduced with permission from The Canadian Encyclopaedia, Historica Foundation of Canada

Subject Areas: History, Citizenship/Civics
Grade Level: Secondary 9-12
Time Allowance: 45 minutes
Films: Canadian Training School in Shorncliffe, Canadian Training School in Bexhill and Borden in Ottawa

Summary: Students debate conscription, focusing on how the issue divided the country.

Background:
The debate over conscription during World War I was one of the bitterest disputes in Canadian history. English Canadians tended to support conscription; French Canadians, along with farmers and recent immigrants to Canada, strongly opposed it.

Your Task:
It is 1917. Debate the following with your classmates: “Be it resolved that the Canadian government conscript into battle young men between 18 and 45 years of age.” Prepare for the debate by watching the films Canadian Training School in Shorncliffe, Canadian Training School in Bexhill, Borden in Ottawa and researching the lines of argument below. Develop some additional lines of argument to use in the debate.

For the resolution:

1. The majority of Canadians support conscription. We must abide by the democratic decision of the majority.

2. Enacting conscription will upset some Canadians; not enacting conscription will upset others. It is impossible to please everybody. However, all Canadians will benefit if we fight with Britain and protect our economic and political interests.


Against the resolution:

1. Canada was the creation of two founding peoples, the English and the French. That spirit of partnership is being lost as English-speaking Canadians force conscription on French-speaking Canadians. French Canadians should not be forced to fight in a war against their will.

2. We do not treat some of our own men as full citizens. How can we expect men from groups which face discrimination in Canada to shoulder the full responsibilities of citizenship, when they are restricted from sharing all its privileges?

Subject Areas: History, Citizenship/Civics
Grade Level: Secondary 9-12
Time Allowance: 45 minutes
Films: Canadian Training School in Shorncliffe. Canadian Training School in Bexhill and Borden in Ottawa

Summary: Students debate conscription, focusing on how it affected Canada’s standing in the world.

Background:
The debate over conscription during World War I was one of the bitterest disputes in Canadian history.

Your Task:
It is 1917. Debate the following with your classmates: “Be it resolved that the Canadian government conscript into battle young men between 18 and 45 years of age.” Prepare for the debate by watching the films Canadian Training School in Shorncliffe, Canadian Training School in Bexhill, Borden in Ottawa and researching the lines of argument below. Develop some additional lines of argument to use in the debate.

For the resolution:

1. Canada is an equal participant in a just war. We have a responsibility to contribute. It is wrong to stay out of this fight against tyranny.

2. Canada’s per capita contribution of men to World War I is below that of Britain, as well as other members of the British Empire such as Australia and New Zealand. The Canadian government should conscript men so that our per capita contribution reaches the level of the other colonies.

3. Canada is fighting for its own interests. Our biggest trading partner, Britain, is battling for its survival. If the Germans defeat Britain, the economic consequences for Canada will be horrendous.

Against the resolution:

1. Canada is in this war because Britain is in the war. This is a European civil war and we are not a part of Europe. We are part of the new world. We should not be drawn into Europe’s disputes.

2. Canada has a long history of joining Britain’s imperialistic adventures, and this must come to an end. Canada must act as an independent nation, not as Britain’s servant.