Blake, Edward National Historic Person
London, Ontario
Edward Blake
(© Topley Studio Fonds / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada / Library and Archives Canada / PA-013025)
Address :
399 Ridout Street North, Middlesex County Court House NHSC, London, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1937-05-20
Life Date:
1833 to 1912
Other Name(s):
-
Blake, Edward
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Ontario Premier (1871-72), noted Liberal leader and thinker
Plaque(s)
Original Plaque: in Middlesex County Court House NHSC 399 Ridout Street North, London, Ontario
In honour of
The Honourable Edward Blake.
1833-1912.
Jurist, Legislator. and Orator.
Premier of Ontario 1871-2.
Born at Adelaide, 13th October, 1833.
Died in Toronto, 1st March, 1912.
Existing plaque: Middlesex County Court House NHSC 399 Ridout Street North, London, Ontario
Lawyer, leading member of the Canada First movement, and statesman, Edward Blake was born in Middlesex County, Upper Canada. He was the second premier of Ontario (1871-2) and a member of the House of Commons for twenty-two years, serving as Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Alexander Mackenzie and as leader of the federal Liberal party (1880-1887). An authority on the constitution and exponent of provincial rights, he argued a number of important cases before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He sat in the British parliament as an Irish Nationalist ( 1892-1907). He died in Toronto.