BORDEN, Robert Laird, Canadian states man: b. Grand Pre, Nova Scotia, 26 June 1854, the son of Robert Borden, schoolmaster and farmer, and Eunice Laird Borden. He is de scended from Samuel Borden, surveyor, who came to Falmouth from the American colonies in 1760. He was educated at Acacia Villa Academy, Horton, and afterward taught school in his native province and at Glenwood Insti tute, New Jersey. In 1874 he returned to Nova Scotia and began the study of law and was called to the bar in 1878. He soon acquired a large practice in the courts of Nova Scotia and the Supreme Court of Canada, and was engaged in several cases before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He became a Q.C. in 1890. He was president of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society, 1893-1904. At first identified with the Liberal party, he seceded in 1891 on the question of reciprocity with the United States. He was elected to the Dominion House of Commons for Halifax in 1896, but was defeated in 1904. He was elected for Carleton in 1905 and in 1908 was returned for both Carleton and Halifax but elected to sit for Halifax. In 1901, on the retirement of Sir Charles Tupper from the leadership of the Liberal-Conservative party he was elected to the vacant position. His policy, enunciated in the Halifax• platform of 1907, embraced pro vincial autonomy, civil-service reform, placing of the government railways under an independ ent commission, nationalization of telegraphs and telephones and preferential trade within the empire. An innovation was introduced in Canadian public life by the Laurier adminis tration in 1905, when an additional sessional indemnity of $7,000 was voted to the official leader of the opposition in the Dominion Par liament. Mr. Borden, on the Laurier Naval Service Bill of 1910, advocated the contribu tion to the imperial authorities of an amount sufficient to purchase two dreadnoughts. He offered strenuous opposition to the Taft-Field ing reciprocity agreement, and in the general election of 1911 on that issue he was returned to power, and entered office as Prime Minister 10 Oct. 1911. The Liberal-Conservatives had also in that election received the support of the Nationalists of Quebec, who resented what they regarded as Laurier's imperialistic naval policy. In 1912 Mr. Borden became a member of the Imperial Privy Council. His Naval Service Bill of 1912, which provided for the contribution to the imperial navy of three bat tleships of the largest class, at a cost of $35, 000,000, passed the House of Commons but was rejected in the Senate.
The outbreak of the European War in Au gust 1914 was followed by the calling of an emergency session of the Canadian Parliament, when, with the loyal co-operation of Sir Wil frid Laurier and the opposition, men and money were pledged to aid Great Britain in the struggle with the Central Powers. Within three months of the declaration of war a force of 33,000 men was sent overseas; and up to June 1917, 430,000 men were raised by volun tary enlistment. During the continuance of
his first ministry the war held the predominant place in public affairs. In addition to the mag nificent contribution in men, large loans were raised and a great new munitions industry es tablished. There was, however, strong criticism of administration in several departments, and notably in the Militia Department.
Sir Robert Borden — he was created G.C.
M.G. in June 1914—visited England and the western front in the summer of 1915 and re ceived, among other honors, the freedom of the city of London and the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. The creation of an Over seas Minister of Militia in the following year led to some sharp correspondence with Sir Sam Hughes, the Minister of Militia, and a demand (9 November) for that Minister's res ignation. The urgency of the war situation led to an extension of the life of the Parlia ment for one year, to October 1917.• In the spring of 1917 an adjournment of Parliament was made to permit the Prime Minister to go to England to confer with the British authori ties and with other representatives of the self governing dominions. On his return he inti mated the government's intention of passing through Parliament a conscription act to pro vide adequate reinforcements for the Canadian armies overseas. Negotiations were, in the beginning of June, opened with Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Liberal leader, with the view to the formation of a union government by the fusion for war purposes of the two great par ties. Those proposals were declined by Sir Wilfrid, partly on the ground that the policy of the proposed government was announced prior to the extension of the invitation to him to join it, and he himself was in favor of a referendum before so drastic a measure was carried through. For the time being the effort at fusion failed, but the Military Service Bill, together with a Canadian Northern Railway purchase bill, passed through Parliament. A second attempt to form a union ministry— made by Sir Robert Borden on the dissolution of Parliament prior to the general election which became inevitable on the cleavage pro duced by the conscription bill — was more suc cessful, and in October a union government was formed which, with the exception of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and representatives of the Liberalism of Quebec, was fairly representative of both great political parties in all the prov inces. This government, pledged among other things to enforce conscription, to make better provision for soldiers and their dependents and to free the civil service from the evils of the patronage system, was divided into two cabi nets, each presided over by the Prime Minister, for War and Reconstruction. As a union ministry it went before the country at the general election held on 17 Dec. 1917. See CANADA.