Edward Whelan (Canadian politician)

Edward Whelan (1824 – December 10, 1867) was one of Prince Edward Island's delegates to the Québec Conference and one of the Fathers of the Canadian Confederation. Whelan was also a journalist, orator and advocate for responsible government.

Edward Whelan was born in 1824 in Ballina, County Mayo, in Ireland. At 7 years old, his family and his all moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1831. Growing up in Halifax, he was greatly influenced by Joseph Howe, where he worked as a printing apprentice, as well as Father Richard Baptist O’Brien, a dynamic Irish priest who was a gifted orator as well as Whelan’s teacher at St. Mary’s School in Halifax. These two influences led Whelan to abandon his studies at the age of 18 to take up a position as editor of The Register, an Irish-Catholic, Liberal newspaper. [1]

In August 1846, Whelan was elected as an assemblyman for St. Peters in Kings County. He remained an assemblyman until the last year of his life but had sporadic attendance. Critics of Whelan point out that his political voice lacked the passion and genius that was apparent in his printed work.

In the fall of 1846, Whelan sought to embark on yet another newspaper venture, namely the Examiner. This publication nearly failed, but he managed to keep it going.

Whelan then devoted much of 1850 to speak at meetings regarding the concept of responsible government. This led to Whelan’s rise in stature and in April 1851, Whelan was named to the Executive Council and also appointed the Queen's Printer.

Within this new government role, Whelan spent much of his time defending the major Liberal reforms regarding the Free Education Act, extension of the franchise, and the Land Purchase Act. These Liberal reforms were not without controversy, and Whelan took the brunt of the criticism.[2]

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