Oliver Mowat
Sir
Oliver Mowat (
1820-
1903) was a
Canadian politician, and
premier of Ontario from
1872 to
1896.
Born in
Kingston, Ontario, he was trained as a
lawyer and worked in the law office of
John A. Macdonald. However, he did not trust the politics of Macdonald,
George-Étienne Cartier, or the other leaders of the
Conservative party. As a member of the Legislative Assembly of the
Province of Canada from
1858 to
1864 he was closely associated with
George Brown, and he was also an avid supporter of "representation by population." With Brown, he was a member of the Great Coalition.
Mowat was a representative at the
Quebec Conference in 1864, where he helped work out the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments. Also in 1864, he was appointed vice-chancellor of
Ontario, a position he held until he was elected premier in 1872. As premier he fought for provincial rights, weakening the power of the federal government in provincial matters. His battles with the federal government greatly decentralized Canada, giving the provinces far more power than some, such as John A. Macdonald had intended. In 1896 he became a
Senator in
Ottawa, where he was also Minister of Justice. In
1897 he was appointed
Lieutenant governor of Ontario and served until his death in office in
1903.
Mowat was
knighted in
1892. He is also honoured with a high school named after him in
Toronto[1].
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Category:Ontario premiers
