Charles Jost Burchell, (1 July 1876 – 12 August 1967) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

diplomat. He served as Canada's first High Commissioner to Australia from 1939 to 1941 and as Canada's first and last High Commissioner to the Dominion of Newfoundland serving from 1941 to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1949. Burchell also raised the possibility of the island, which was then ruled by a British appointed

Commission of Government The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the Great Depression, it was dissolved when the dominion beca ...

, might join

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...

following the war. He "quietly sounded out prominent St. John's citizens on Confederation and quietly encouraged St. John's lawyer John McEvoy to promote publicly Confederation between the two countries." Burchell concluded that the restoration of responsible government by Britain may have to occur before the island would consider joining Canada.

Early life

Charles Jost Burchell was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia on 1 July 1876. He attended Sydney Academy and Dalhousie University, read law, and was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar in April 1899. He married E. Gertrude Currie on 8 May 1901, and they had four children. A keen curler, Burchell represented Nova Scotia at the 1936 Macdonald Brier, Canada's men's curling championship, on a team

skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aidi ...

ped by

Murray Macneill Murray Macneill (also spelled MacNeill) (January 7, 1877 – February 16, 1951) was a curler from Nova Scotia. He is the first skip to win the Brier, back in 1927. He began curling in his back yard while he was a boy in Saint John, New Brunswick. ...

Diplomatic career

Jost's initial term as High Commissioner was from 1941 to 1944 when he was succeeded by James Macdonald. However, he would serve a second sojourn from 1948 to 1949. The mission remained following the war in order to deal with the withdrawal of American troops, negotiate a 99-year lease for a Canadian military airbase at Goose Bay and, ultimately, to negotiate Newfoundland's entry into

following the

1948 Newfoundland referendums The Newfoundland referendums of 1948 were a series of two referendums to decide the political future of the Dominion of Newfoundland. Before the referendums, Newfoundland was in debt and went through several delegations to determine whether the c ...

. Burchell was sent back to Newfoundland in 1948 in order to negotiate the British colony's terms of union with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The High Commission was closed on 31 March 1949, shortly before Newfoundland officially became a Canadian province. On 1 April 1949, Buchell was named to the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...

in recognition of his work as High Commissioner.

Death

Charles Jost Burchell died at his home in Halifax on 14 August 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchell, Charles 1876 births 1967 deaths Dalhousie University alumni High Commissioners of Canada to Australia High Commissioners of Canada to the Dominion of Newfoundland Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Curlers from Nova Scotia People from Sydney, Nova Scotia Sportspeople from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality