David Laird
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David Laird PC |
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The Hon. David Laird
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| 3rd Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories | |
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In office October 7, 1876 – December 3, 1881 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Governor General |
The Earl of Dufferin Marquess of Lorne |
| Preceded by | Alexander Morris |
| Succeeded by | Edgar Dewdney |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Queen's County |
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In office September 29, 1873 – October 7, 1876 |
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| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | James Colledge Pope |
| Member of the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island for 4th Queens | |
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In office 1871 – September 29, 1873 Serving with Benjamin Davies |
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| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | William Welsh |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 12, 1833 New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island |
| Died | January 12, 1914 (aged 80) Ottawa |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Louise Owen (m. 1864) |
| Children | 6 |
| Alma mater | Presbyterian Theological Seminary |
| Occupation | newspaper editor, publisher |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
David Laird, PC (March 12, 1833 – January 12, 1914) born in New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island into a Presbyterian family noted for its civic activism. His father Alexander had been a long time Reformer and Liberal MLA. David became a Liberal MLA for Belfast. He also established and edited the Patriot.
After initially opposing confederation, he led in the talks by which Prince Edward Island became a province of Canada. He became a Liberal member of the Canadian parliament in the government of Alexander Mackenzie. He served as Minister of the Interior and guided the passage of the Indian Act into Canadian law. He was the first resident Lieutenant Governor of Northwest Territories, Canada. He was the fifth Lieutenant Governor in charge of the territory. He negotiated several aboriginal treaties. Even though David Laird adopted the paternalistic views of his time in working with aboriginals, colleagues noted his consistent hard work, reliability and honesty in his dealings as a federal official. The aboriginals respected him as a man "who did not speak with a forked tongue."
David Laird was born in New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island, the son of Alexander Laird and Janet Orr. David's parents had emigrated from Renfrewshire, Scotland to Prince Edward Island in 1819. His father was a successful farmer and member of the Island's executive council. His older brother Alexander held an elected seat in the Islands legislated assembly.
On June 30, 1864, David married Mary Louise Owen in Georgetown. Her brother, Lemuel Cambridge Owen, served as the Island's Post Master. David and Mary Louise had six children: David Rennie, Mary Alice, Arthur Gordon, William Charles, James Harold (who would become an Indian agent), and Fanny Louise.
David Laird attended the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Truro, Nova Scotia after which he planned to become a minister. He became a journalist and newspaper publisher and editor instead.
In 1859, he founded a newspaper known as The Protestant and Evangelical Witness. In 1865, its name changed to the Patriot.
The first issue of The Protestant and Evangelical Witness in July 1859 proclaimed its purpose as "exposing the errors and noting the wiles and workings of popery." Laird tactfully reassured individual Catholic that he had not ill will toward them but his concern was only "the system by which they are enslaved."
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Wikipedia