RECOMMEND
 ADD COMMENT  READ COMMENTS (0)  PRINT  EMAIL  SHARE  THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA
0 people recommend this
Sir William Vallance Whiteway, lawyer, politician, premier of Newfoundland 1878-85, 1889-94, 1895-97 (b near Totnes, Eng 1 Apr 1828; d at St John's 24 June 1908). Whiteway came to Newfoundland in 1843 and began a legal career in 1852. He entered politics in 1859 and achieved prominence as a leading confederate in the late 1860s. Defeated in the anticonfederate landslide of 1869, he later returned to the Assembly, becoming solicitor general in 1874 and premier in 1878.

Ambitious and energetic, Whiteway worked to develop the Newfoundland economy. His instrument was a trans-island railway, begun in 1881. The policy was controversial, and Whiteway found himself maneuvered out of office in 1885 by a mercantile party that favoured more attention for the troubled fishing industry. He was triumphantly re-elected in 1889 as leader of the Liberal Party, and again in 1893 on a platform stressing railway building and economic progress. However, the filing of petitions alleging corrupt electoral practices against Whiteway and 16 other Liberals precipitated a major political crisis and his government's resignation in Apr 1894. He regained the premiership in 1895 but was defeated in the 1897 election. Soon after, he was replaced as Liberal leader by Robert BOND.

Whiteway's principal legacy is the Newfoundland railway, though his assertion of colonial rights on the FRENCH SHORE is historically important. He was among the first Newfoundland politicians to cast the political process in class terms.

Author J.K. HILLER

Feature Articles
Invention of Standard Time
Time waits for no man… and neither do trains...
MOST READ ARTICLES
Trudeau, Pierre Elliott
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at ...
Great Depression
Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ...
Riel, Louis
Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River ...
MOST RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - ...
Macdonald, Sir John Alexander
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, lawyer, businessman, politician, first prime minister of Canada (b at Brunswick Place, ...
Great Depression
Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ...
MOST COMMENTED ON ARTICLES
Ware, John
John Ware, "Nigger John," horseman, rancher (b near Georgetown, SC 1845; d near Brooks, Alta 11 Sept 1905). ...
Créditistes
Créditistes, Québec party involved in federal politics. For nearly 2 decades before its 1958 formation ...
LaMarsh, Julia Verlyn
Julia Verlyn LaMarsh, "Judy," lawyer, politician, broadcaster, novelist (b at Chatham, Ont 20 Dec 1924; d at ...
newsletter subscription
* E-mail:
join us on facebook twitter
WIRE BLOG
Canada's Many Heroes and Heroines
by FRANCES CATION
WIRE BLOG
Welcome to the Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War Project blog!
by JENNA ZUSCHLAG MISENER
WIRE BLOG
Silence and Remembering
by JAMES MARSH
WIRE BLOG
A Message From George Brady
by CHRISTINA L
WIRE BLOG
The making of Hana's Suitcase by Director Larry Weinstein
by LARRY WEINSTEIN
INSIDE TCE
Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA
Biggar, Marjorie
Marjorie (May) Biggar. Mezzo-soprano, b Vancouver ca 1938; LRAM 1960, ARAM 1965. She studied with Scott Robertson in Vancouver, Jennie Tourel in Aspen, Colo, and Astra Desmond and Olive Groves at the RAM, London. She sang in ...


Who's Who at TCE    |    Our Partners The Canadian Encyclopedia © 2009 Historica-Dominion Copyright Information