Charles Tupper


 * Not to be confused with Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper who was Charles Tupper's son.

Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a father of Confederation, the sixth Prime Minister of Canada and the one with the shortest term of office (69 days).

Tupper was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia to Charles Tupper, Sr. and Miriam Lowe Lockhart. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and became a doctor upon his graduation in 1843. In 1846, he married Frances Morse (1826-1912), with whom he had three sons (Orin Stewart, Charles Hibbert, and William Johnston) and three daughters (Emma, Elizabeth Stewart (Lilly), and Sophy Almon).

He entered Nova Scotia politics in 1855 and became premier in 1864 as leader of the Confederation Party. As a delegate to the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London conferences, Tupper guided his province into Confederation.

Sir Charles Tupper's public career was long and successful. He was Canada's High Commissioner in Great Britain from 1884 to 1887 and was made a baronet for his service in 1888. He later served as one of Sir John A. Macdonald's key lieutenants. In 1895, he returned from service as Canada's representative in Britain to take over the leadership of the Conservative party from Mackenzie Bowell, thus becoming Prime Minister of Canada. The Conservative Party was "dissatisfied" in Bowell's leadership because of the controversial Manitoba Schools Question. He was an active member in the Imperial Federation Movement. He was instrumental in its dissolution, since he favoured freed trade within the empire over closer defence ties. Tupper replaced Bowell on May 2, 1896 -- after the dissolution of the 7th Canadian Parliament but before the 1896 federal election. Despite his successes, Tupper's party lost the election and he never served as Prime Minister of a sitting parliament. He was in power for just 68 days, the shortest term ever for a Canadian Prime Minister, shorter than that of John Turner in 1984. He was also the oldest, at the age of 74, to assume the office.

Tupper led the Conservatives into the 1896 election; however, the question of the educational rights of French-speaking Manitobans turned voters towards the Liberals under Wilfred Laurier. Despite garnering 46.5% of the votes, in comparison to 45% for the Liberals, Tupper's Conservatives were defeated. He retired from the federal scene in 1901, after thirty years in national politics.

Sir Charles Tupper died in Bexleyheath, Kent, England on October 30, 1915, and was brought home to be buried in St. John's Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia onboard HMS Blenheim, which had been painted black for the occasion. At age 94, he currently holds the record as Canada's longest living prime minister.

Tupper was also a notorious womanizer, his nickname 'The Ram of Cumberland' being believed to have a dual meaning.