Sir
GCMG ,
PC ,
QC (
July 22 ,
1820 –
19 April ,
1903 ) was a
Canadian politician, and
Premier Of Ontario from
1872 to
1896 .
Mowat was born in
Kingston, Ontario .
Before entering politics, Mowat trained as a
Lawyer , and, on
January 27 ,
1836 , Mowat, not yet sixteen years old, articled in the law office of
John A. Macdonald . He was called to the bar
November 5 ,
1841 . In 1846, he married Jane Ewart, a daughter of
John Ewart of
Toronto . Mowat in 1856 was created a
Queen's Counsel .
He first entered politics as an
Alderman of the City of Toronto in 1857. From there, he became a member of the
Legislative Assembly for South Ontario.
As a youth, he had taken up arms with the royalists during the
Upper Canada Rebellion of
1837 , which suggested a conservative inclination in politics. However, he did not trust the politics of Macdonald,
George-Étienne Cartier , or the other leaders of the
Conservative Party and instead joined the
Reformers . As a member of the
Legislative Assembly Of The Province Of Canada from
1858 to
1864 , he was closely associated with
George Brown and served as
Provincial Secretary (1858) and
Postmaster-General (1863–1864) in pre-
Confederation government (the
John Sandfield Macdonald administration) and was also an avid supporter of "representation by population." With Brown, he helped create what became the
Ontario Liberal Party as well as the
Liberal Party Of Canada .
Mowat was a member of the
Great Coalition government of 1864 and was a representative at that year's
Quebec Conference , where he helped work out the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments. Also in 1864, he was appointed to the judiciary as vice-chancellor of
Ontario , a position he held until he was elected premier on
October 31 ,
1872 .
As premier in the
1880s a series of disputes with the Dominion arose over Provincial boundaries, jurisdiction over liquor licenses, timber, mineral rights and other matters. These court battles were won by Mowat, resulting a weakening of the power of the federal government in provincial matters. Mowat's battles with the federal government greatly
Decentralized Canada, giving the provinces far more power than Macdonald had intended. He also served as his own
Attorney-General concurrently with his service as Premier, and introduced reforms such as the
Secret Ballot in elections and the extension of
Suffrage beyond property owners. He also introduced laws regulating liquor and created the municipal level of government. His government was moderate and attempted to cut across divisions in the province between
Catholic s and
Protestant s as well as between country and city. He also oversaw the expansion of Ontario's boundaries northward as well as the emergence of the province into the economic powerhouse of Canada.
In
1896 the
Leader Of The Opposition ,
Wilfrid Laurier , convinced Mowat to enter federal politics. It was thought that the combination of a French Canadian (Laurier) and the prestige of Sir Oliver Mowat in Ontario would be a winning ticket for the
Liberal party. The slogan was "Laurier, Mowat and Victory". Victory was won, and on
July 13 ,
1896 , Mowat became
Minister Of Justice and a few days later a
Senator .
In
1897 he was appointed
Lieutenant Governor Of Ontario and served until his death in office in
1903 .
]]
Mowat was
Knight ed in
1892 . He is also honoured with a high school named after him in
Toronto {Link without Title} .
