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Historical Background

Sir John A. Macdonald was elected Canada's first Prime Minister in 1867. This would be the beginning of the Conservative Party's domination in Canadian national politics until 1896. The Conservatives emerged as the only true national party in Canada, winning all but one of the federal elections from 1867 to 1891. Opposition to the Conservatives was not unified, and therefore there was no effective alternative to their power. Sir John A. Macdonald created a strong political force that would define the early years of Canadian politics.

However, Conservative domination of Canadian politics started to decline in the years leading up to the 1896 election. Several events started to change the political mood in Canada:

The 1874 Election

This was the only election between 1867 and 1891 which the Conservatives did not win. Sir John A. Macdonald was plagued by scandal leading up to this election. Sir Hugh Allan's Canadian Pacific Railroad had contributed large amounts of money to the Conservative party in return for a railway building monopoly. The controversy surrounding the Conservatives allowed the newly formed Liberals under Alexander Mackenzie to take power. However, this power would be short-lived. Alexander Mackenzie was not a very effective Prime Minister, as he was unable to unite all his followers into a strong political force. The 1878 election would see Sir John A. Macdonald returned to power with a convincing majority. 1874-78 would prove to be a minor interruption in the federal Conservative power. The Liberals were unable to present united opposition to the Conservatives.

The Northwest Rebellion, 1885

Louis Riel led the Metis of Manitoba in several battles against the federal government. In 1885, the Metis created an army and elected their own government. This rebellion was put down by the Northwest Mounted Police, and Louis Riel was hung for his actions. The Conservative government was accused of mishandling this incident. The Northwest Rebellion would cause a deep division between French and English Canada. This French-English conflict would continue to grow throughout the 1880s and 1890s and would threaten to tear apart Confederation. The hanging of Louis Riel was the beginning of French Canada's mistrust of the Conservative government. In the 1887 election, the Liberals made significant gains in Quebec. However, the Conservatives were elected again.

Manitoba Schools Question

The Manitoba Liberal government passed legislation in 1890 abolishing separate Catholic schools. This was a highly controversial issue that created further division between French and English Canada. However, in the 1891 election, Wilfrid Laurier and the Liberals decided to focus on free trade in their campaigning strategy. This allowed the Conservatives to shift the attention away from their mismanagement of the Manitoba Schools question. The Conservatives portrayed Laurier as anti-clerical and anti-French, and won yet another election.

The death of Sir John A. Macdonald

Macdonald died three months after winning the 1891 election. Macdonald's extensive political experience was critical to Conservative power in a time when economic scandal and growing French mistrust threatened their domination of Canadian politics. As Laurier emerged as a major figure who could unite an opposition, it was important that the Conservatives had a strong leader. However, the death of Macdonald left the party scrambling for a leader, and internal divisions worsened. This would be the situation leading into the 1896 election.

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