Adams George Archibald

Politician

• Born: May 3, 1814
• Birthplace: Truro, Nova Scotia
• Died: December 14, 1892
• Place of death: Truro, Nova Scotia

Contribution: Adams George Archibald was a Canadian lawyer and politician and an early proponent of Canadian Confederation, or the birth of Canada as a nation. He held a variety of political posts, most notably serving as lieutenant governor of both Manitoba and Nova Scotia.

Early Life and Education

Adams George Archibald was born on May 3, 1814, in Truro, Nova Scotia, the second son of Samuel and Elizabeth Archibald. He studied geology and medicine before settling on law. He became a notary public in 1836 and later became a member of the bar in both Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Archibald married Elizabeth Burnyeat, his cousin, in 1843. They eventually had a son, who died at a young age, and three daughters: Joanna, Elizabeth, and Alice.

Archibald’s family had long been prominent in the politics of Colchester County in the province of Nova Scotia. Following his family’s example, Archibald held a variety of public offices in the county from 1836 to 1848, including justice of the peace, commissioner of schools, registrar, and judge of probate. In 1849, he became a member of a small group of commissioners charged with overseeing the construction of a telegraph line from Halifax to New Brunswick.

Early Career

In August 1851, Archibald ran for a seat in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly as a member of the Reform or Liberal party and won. He remained in this position until 1867. As a member of the assembly, he was noted for his calm, quiet demeanor and his consistent work to gain consensus among members regarding the issues of the day. He tended to favor a traditionalist view and did not like overturning procedures and policies originally introduced by the British. He believed that it was unwise to make sweeping political changes before the populace as a whole became better educated and more economically secure. For this reason, he backed the establishment of state schools. Regarding economic security for the people of Nova Scotia, he advocated increased trade with the United States as well as enhanced railway construction in Nova Scotia.

Archibald was appointed solicitor general in 1856, but his term ended abruptly with the forced resignation of William Young, premier of Nova Scotia, when a number of Liberal members of the assembly became Conservatives. Because of this move, Young’s party was no longer in the majority, and he was forced to step down. As a result, Archibald lost his appointment as solicitor general. In the tumultuous election that followed in 1859, the Conservatives won by a small margin, but later that year, they lost a vote of confidence, leading to a new Liberal government, again headed by William Young, with Archibald as attorney general.

In 1860, Joseph Howe, who became premier of the province, continued to promote work on an intercolonial railway. In 1861, Archibald and Jonathan McCully, a railway engineer, went with Howe to Quebec, where they met representatives of the Canadian and New Brunswick governments. Their proposal, submitted to the British government, fell through because of a lack of funding, but Archibald continued to believe in the future of the railway as an economic engine for the people of the province.

Archibald became the leader of the Liberal Party in Nova Scotia in 1862. In keeping with his socially conservative views, he introduced a bill to make a man’s right to vote contingent upon the ownership of property. His backing of this highly unpopular bill led to a disastrous defeat for the Liberals in the election of 1863. Surprisingly, Archibald himself won the election, one of only fourteen Liberals to survive the defeat.

In August 1864, Archibald attended an intercolonial conference in Charlottetown, where he and other representatives discussed the possibility of forming a union of the Canadian colonies. He preferred a legislative union, not a federal one, and he was the only Liberal in the Nova Scotia assembly to support a union. As a result, in 1866, when the legislature accepted the idea of a union, Archibald was named a delegate to the conference in London, Ontario, where the terms of union would be determined.

In 1867, Archibald was appointed secretary of state for the Maritime provinces in the first federal cabinet of Canada, headed by Conservative John A. Macdonald. Although the confederation of provinces was now law, there was still great opposition to the situation, and the strength of this opposition eventually led Archibald to resign in 1868.

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba and Nova Scotia

In 1869, Archibald won a federal by-election in Colchester. In May 1870, George-Etienne Cartier, who had stepped in for Macdonald when Canada’s first prime minister became seriously ill, asked Archibald to accept an appointment as the first lieutenant governor of Manitoba. Archibald was not particularly interested in that region, but he reluctantly accepted on the condition that he serve for only one year and that he receive an appointment to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia at the conclusion of his term.

As lieutenant governor, Archibald stepped into an area embroiled in hostilities between the local Métis inhabitants and members of the military, who had attempted to quell a Métis uprising. Creating his cabinet was a touchy matter, for if he included members of the Métis or their opponents in his council, it would antagonize the other side. He brought in Henry Joseph Clarke and Thomas Howard, both from Quebec, as attorney general and minister without portfolio, respectively. The Métis were represented by a fur trader, James McKay. Because of continuing strife among members of the government, Archibald essentially became the sole moving force within the Manitoba government; he focused on providing infrastructure services, such as courts and schools, for the area as settlers moved in.

Although Archibald wished to avoid inflaming the conflict between the Métis and white settlers, he viewed the Métis as childlike, primitive people and did not show any particular interest in their customs or beliefs. He believed they would willingly sell their land to settlers and advised them not to attack or otherwise resist the settlers. At the same time, he told Métis leaders to stake claim to their lands with the government if they were upset about settlers moving in on them. These contradictory actions got him in trouble with Joseph Howe, secretary of state for the provinces. In November 1871, Archibald attempted to resign, but because Macdonald could not find anyone willing to replace him, he had to stay in office until 1872.

In February 1873, Archibald was made a director of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In June, he received his long-awaited appointment to the Supreme Court, but he resigned almost immediately when he was appointed lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia. Unlike his Manitoba appointment, this position involved far less controversy and indeed was largely ceremonial. He held the post until 1883.

In 1886, Archibald became president of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, which he had helped to found. In 1888, he was reelected to the Commons as a Liberal-Conservative candidate. Although he held the post until 1891, he suffered from ill health and did not engage in any notable activities during that time. Archibald died on December 14, 1892, in Truro, Nova Scotia.

Bibliography

“Archibald, the Hon. Sir Adams George.” Library of Parliament. Parliament of Canada, n.d. Web. 28 July 2013.

Coucill, Irma. Canada’s Prime Ministers, Governors General and Fathers of Confederation. Markham: Pembroke, 2005. Print.

Ferguson, Barry, and Robert Wardhaugh. Manitoba Premiers of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 2010. Print.

Moore, Christopher. 1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal. New York: Random, 2011. Print.

Pryke, K. G. “Archibald, Sir Adams George.” Dictionary of Canadian Biography. U of Toronto/U Laval, n.d. Web. 28 July 2013.