RECOMMEND
 ADD COMMENT  READ COMMENTS (0)  PRINT  EMAIL  SHARE  THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA
0 people recommend this
Robert Thorburn, merchant, politician, premier of Newfoundland 1885-89 (b at Juniper Banks, Scot 28 Mar 1836; d at St John's 12 Apr 1906). Thorburn went to Newfoundland in 1852. For most of his political life (1870-85, 1893-1906) he was an Upper House member who championed the cause of governing the colony along "strict commercial" lines. Economic, social and political conditions had combined by 1882 to install in office a Liberal Party based on government-sponsored diversification and industrialization. When sectarian riots precipitated a political crisis in 1884, Thorburn's class exploited the resulting denominational bitterness by forming a "Protestant Rights" Party and attracted sufficient Protestant support to defeat the Liberals in 1885. The resulting Thorburn-led administration unsuccessfully tried to develop the colony along "fishery" lines. Thorburn was forced by circumstance to fall back on a belated program of public works, but then was swept from power in 1889.

Author JOHN GREENE

Feature Articles
David Thompson: The Greatest Geographer the World has Known
David Thompson was an outsider, struggling to find a foothold in the empire that had consumed his country...
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
Great Depression
Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ...
Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Disciples of Christ)
Evangelical Christian Church, often called the Christian Church (Christian Disciples), is a denomination stemming from ...
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - ...
MOST COMMENTED ON ARTICLES
Sears Canada Inc
Sears Canada Inc, headquartered in Toronto, is a Canadian retailer incorporated in 1952. In 1953 operating under the ...
Ware, John
John Ware, "Nigger John," horseman, rancher (b near Georgetown, SC 1845; d near Brooks, Alta 11 Sept 1905). ...
Land Claims
Land claims are dealt with by a process established by the federal government to enable INDIANS, INUIT and ...
newsletter subscription
* E-mail:
join us on facebook twitter
WIRE BLOG
Survival Kit
by ANNE SEIGNOT
WIRE BLOG
Love Stories
by JENNIFER GIVOGUE
ARTICLE
Pierre Trudeau: Politics and Personality
by WILLIAM CHRISTIAN
ARTICLE
How to Reverse the Decline of Parliament
by NELSON WISEMAN
WIRE BLOG
Prorogation Protest
by WILLIAM CHRISTIAN
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
Verschelden, Louis
Louis Verschelden. Baritone, physician, b Ste-Thérèse-de-Blainville (Ste-Thérèse), near Montreal, 11 Jan 1881, d Montreal 18 Mar 1948. He was educated at the Séminaire de ...


Who's Who at TCE    |    Our Partners The Canadian Encyclopedia © 2010 Historica-Dominion Copyright Information