Richard John Cartwright
Sir Richard John Cartwright | |
|---|---|
| Canadian Senator from Ontario | |
| In office September 30, 1904 – September 24, 1912 | |
| Prime Minister | Wilfrid Laurier |
| Minister of Trade and Commerce | |
| In office July 13, 1896 – September 6, 1911 | |
| Prime Minister | Wilfrid Laurier |
| Preceded by | William Bullock Ives |
| Succeeded by | George Eulas Foster |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office November 7, 1873 – October 16, 1878 | |
| Prime Minister | Alexander Mackenzie |
| Preceded by | Samuel Leonard Tilley |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Leonard Tilley |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office February 22, 1887 – September 29, 1904 | |
| Preceded by | Archibald Harley |
| Succeeded by | Malcolm Smith Schell |
| Constituency | Oxford South |
| In office December 10, 1883 – February 21, 1887 | |
| Preceded by | John McMillan |
| Succeeded by | John McMillan |
| Constituency | Huron South |
| In office November 2, 1878 – June 19, 1882 | |
| Preceded by | Horace Horton |
| Succeeded by | Riding abolished |
| Constituency | Huron Centre |
| In office September 20, 1867 – October 8, 1878 | |
| Preceded by | Riding established |
| Succeeded by | Edmund John Glyn Hooper |
| Constituency | Lennox |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 4, 1835 |
| Died | September 12, 1912 (aged 76) Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| Spouse |
Frances Jane Lawe (m. 1859) |
| Children | 10 |
| Occupation |
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Sir Richard John Cartwright PC GCMG (December 4, 1835 – September 24, 1912) was a Canadian businessman and politician.
Cartwright was one of Canada's most distinguished federal politicians during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a cabinet minister in five Liberal governments. He served in the Canadian Parliament for 43 years and 5 months, being an MP from 1867 to 1904 then a Senator until his death in 1912. Prior to Confederation, he had served 4 years, 1 month and 15 days in the Legislative Assembly of the old Province of Canada. Thus, he was a legislator for more than 47 and a half years. He was a vigorous and trenchant orator, and was known as 'the Rupert of debate'. In particular, his debates with his Conservative counterpart, Sir George Eulas Foster, are the stuff of Canadian Parliamentary legend.
He was a progressive. A free trader, he stood against the Conservatives' high-tariff policy. Often propounding on the inalienable right of Canadian freeman to vote for and in support of their patriotic convictions independent of any party, he favoured proportional representation via Single Transferable Voting. He supported the fight of western farmers for accessible terminal grain elevators in 1910.