Laurier House National Historic Site of Canada

Laurier and National Unity

The Globe, "Bengough", September 1st 1897
© National Archives of Canada / c8429

One of the principal features of his vision was a strong sense of national unity. As a young man, he asserted that "The unity of the people is the secret of the future", ["L'union entre les peuples, le secret de l'avenir"] by which he meant that Canada's well-being depended on the willingness of Canadians, whether French-speaking or English, whether Protestant or Roman Catholic, to work together for the benefit of all. Throughout his life, Laurier laboured to achieve this end and it influenced his decisions on difficult political problems. Some issues were too divisive to admit of compromise despite his best efforts. When he was leader of the opposition at the beginning of the First World War, he supported sending Canadian troops overseas but refused to accept conscription - thus losing the support of both the English who demanded compulsory military service, and of the French who felt that a European war was of no concern to Canada. Often he was successful in what he called "the cause of conciliation, harmony and concord", and the sense of Canadian identity that he fostered enabled him to forward another feature of his vision: Canada's autonomy from Great Britain.

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