Competing Visions: Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Henri Bourassa Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1841-1919) was leader of the Liberal Party from 1887-1919, and prime minister from 1896-1911. Pragmatic and charismatic, he led the country through a period of unprecedented prosperity and growth. Nevertheless, Laurier faced daunting questions regarding Canada’s identity, its place in the British Empire, and its vision for the future. Henri Bourassa (1868-1952) was an influential French Canadian politician and journalist, and a strong French Canadian and Canadian nationalist. He initially supported and then broke with Laurier and the Liberal Party for reasons that we will explore. What did Laurier and Bourassa share in their vision for the country? How did they differ? Back to Lecture Outline

* Lecture Notes *

PowerPoint Slides

Reading:

Belanger, Real, “Laurier, Sir Wilfrid” in DCB

or Bliss, Right Honourable Men, ch.2 (31-61)

Supplemental Reading:

Joseph Levitt, “Bourassa, Henri,” in The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Further Reading:

Bergevin, Andre, Cameron Nish, Anne Bourassa. Henri Bourassa: biographie: index des ecrits: index de la correspondance publique, 1895-1924 (1966)

Clippingdale, R.T. Laurier (1979)

Dafoe, J.W. Laurier (1922, new ed 1965)

LaPierre, L. Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the Romance of Canada (1996)

Levitt, J. Henri Bourassa and the Golden Calf: The Social Program of the Nationalists of Quebec (1900-1914) (1969)

---. Henri Bourassa: Catholic Critic (1976)

---, ed. Henri Bourassa on Imperialism and Bi-Culturalism, 1900-1918 (1970)

Murrow, C. Henri Bourassa and French-Canadian Nationalism: Opposition to Empire (1968)

Neatby, H.B. Laurier and a Liberal Quebec (1973)

Schull, J. Laurier (1965)

Skelton, O.D. Life and Letters of Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1921, 2nd ed 1965)

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