Voter Almanac

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The Political Campaign

Both Laurier and Tupper embarked on cross-country campaign tours. Laurier focused on western provinces to gain new votes. Tupper concentrated on Ontario and Quebec to maintain the Conservative stronghold. The leaders were faced with the challenge of uniting a deeply divided Canada.

Conservative Strategy

To oppose the more moderate approach of Laurier, the Conservatives tried to appeal to both ends of the spectrum – the extreme French and English positions. Although this could gain votes, the danger was that it could divide the party and make it difficult for them to govern.

To appeal to Quebec, the Conservatives took the following approach:

• They supported the Remedial Bill to reopen Manitoba schools
• This allowed them to promote themselves as protectors of French Catholic rights
• They emphasized Laurier's opposition to remedial legislation
• This allowed them to portray Laurier as disloyal and untrustworthy when it came to protecting French interests

To appeal to English Canada, the Conservatives took the following approach:

• They emphasized their judicial and constitutional methods of dealing with the Manitoba Schools Question
• This allowed them to portray themselves as loyal agents of the British Crown
• They emphasized Laurier's French Catholic background
• They portrayed Laurier as someone who would ignore English interests and work towards the best interests of French Canadians instead

Tupper and the Conservatives went to great lengths to ensure that French Canadians knew Laurier was anti-clerical and pro-British. Since voting along religious, linguistic, and racial lines was very common, it was important for the Conservatives to downplay Laurier's French background if they were to win seats in Quebec.

Liberal Strategy

Laurier chose to downplay the racially divisive issues. He realized that to win the election he needed votes in Quebec.

To appeal to English Canada, the Liberals:

• Downplayed the Manitoba Schools question, preferring to let the Conservatives mismanage the issue
• Laurier promoted his “sunny ways” approach to the question – an emphasis on meaningful provincial-federal negotiations to resolve the issue
• Focused on free trade and promoting prosperity for all Canadians by opening up new markets
• Focusing on economics allowed Laurier to draw attention away from the extremely divisive issues
• Free trade was especially appealing to western farmers
• Laurier emphasized his loyalty and respect for ideas of British liberalism

To appeal to Quebec, the Liberals:

• Emphasized their support of provincial rights and alliances with strong provincial governments
• Having control over their own affairs was an important issue for Quebec
• Laurier appealed to French Canadians' sense of nationalism and pride by emphasizing that a French Prime Minister was good for Quebec

Oliver Mowat, the premier of Ontario, was very important to the Liberals' campaign. Mowat was a strong supporter of provincial rights. He had solved his own Schools' Question by negotiating a fair deal with the federal government. Laurier's association with Mowat increased his credibility in the eyes of Quebec because they believed the Manitoba Schools Question could be resolved in a way that would preserve French rights. Having the support of an Ontario Englishman was very important for Laurier's campaign in English Canada.

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