Laurier House National Historic Site of Canada

History

Sir Wilfrid Laurier

"Canada West: The Last Best West." Cover of the pamphlet "Canada West", produced by the Department of the Interior 1909.
© National Archives of Canada / c-30620

Laurier and the Growth of Canada

For Laurier, unity and autonomy were not ends in themselves. Rather, they were means to encourage Canadians to work together to strengthen their country and make it prosperous. Laurier optimistically predicted that the twentieth century would be a time of great achievement for Canada and his government focussed on encouraging industry in the eastern part of the country and the settlement of the rich agricultural land of the prairies. In many ways, Laurier's approach was a continuation of the National Policy of Sir John A. Macdonald but with even more success. Under Laurier's leadership, Canada experienced unprecedented growth and took giant strides towards achieving his vision of the country's future.

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