Cartwright, Sir Richard John

Cartwright, Sir Richard John,

1835–1912, Canadian politician, b. Kingston, Ont. He was elected as a Conservative to the legislative assembly of Canada (1863) and to the first dominion House of Commons (1867), but he later joined the Liberals. He was minister of finance (1873–78) in Alexander MackenzieMackenzie, Alexander,
1822–92, Canadian political leader, b. Scotland. Emigrating (1842) to Canada, he worked first as a stonemason in Kingston, Ont., and then as a builder and contractor in Sarnia. In Lambton he became editor (1852) of a Liberal newspaper.
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's administration. As minister of trade and finance (1896–1911) in Sir Wilfrid LaurierLaurier, Sir Wilfrid
, 1841–1919, Canadian prime minister. He studied law at McGill Univ. His premiership of Canada (1896–1911), the first to be held by a French Canadian, was the longest continuous term in the history of the dominion.
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's government, Cartwright was acting prime minister on several occasions. He entered the Senate in 1904. A noted public speaker, he was the Liberal party's spokesman on financial matters and an earnest advocate of trade reciprocity with the United States.

Bibliography

See his reminiscences (1912).