Charles Fisher (15 August 1808 – 8 December 1880) was a politician and jurist of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada. Fisher was a leading Reformer of his day who headed the first responsible government in New Brunswick from 1854 to 1861. Born in Fredericton, he was first elected to the colonial

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

in 1837, serving from 1848 to 1850. During this time, Fisher wrote to his friend

Joseph Howe Joseph Howe (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer ha ...

about the evil ways of the

family compact The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (today’s Ontario) from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in ...

and on the irresponsible nature of the government and its politics. Fisher would become Leader of the Official Opposition and then Premier and Attorney General in 1854. His government implemented various reforms in education, administration and the electoral system. His government lost power in

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voya ...

when it tried to implement

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

which proved unpopular with voters but he returned to power in 1857. His leadership ended in 1861 when he was ousted by fellow reformer Samuel L. Tilley due to a scandal over the leasing of crown lands. Charles Fisher became a

Father of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...

, participating in the Quebec Conference of 1864 and the

London Conference of 1866 The London Conference was held in London, in the United Kingdom, in 1866. It was the third and final in a series of conferences that led to Canadian Confederation in 1867. Sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunsw ...

that drafted the British North America Act. He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 1867 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

but resigned his seat in 1868 to accept an appointment to the New Brunswick Supreme Court. One of his notable decisions as a judge of the Court was his lone dissent in '' Dow v Black'', a significant constitutional law case dealing with the federal-provincial division of powers. He would have upheld the constitutionality of a provincial statute dealing with municipal taxation, but the majority of the Court held the statute to be unconstitutional. However, his position was upheld on appeal by the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Aug ...

, at that time the

court of last resort A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

for the British Empire, which ruled that the statute was within provincial powers. In another case, ''Ex parte Renaud'', he concurred in the Court's decision upholding the constitutionality of the

Common Schools Act of 1871 The ''Common Schools Act of 1871'' (the Act) was legislation of the Canada, Canadian New Brunswick, Province of New Brunswick, passed by the 22nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, which replaced the ''Parish Schools Act'' of 1858. The legislation ...

. That decision was also upheld by the Judicial Committee, in '' Maher v Town Council of Portland''. He declined an appointment to be Chief Justice of New Brunswick, remaining a puisne judge until his death at the age of 72. His daughter, Jane M. Paulette Fisher, married future premier

John James Fraser John James Fraser (August 1, 1829 – November 24, 1896) was a New Brunswick (Canada) lawyer, judge, and politician. John Fraser was born at Beaubears Island, New Brunswick. He married twice, the first time in 1867 to Martha Cumming. She die ...

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Government of New Brunswick complete profile of Charles Fisher
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Charles 1808 births 1880 deaths Politicians from Fredericton Fathers of Confederation Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Premiers of New Brunswick Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Attorneys General of the Colony of New Brunswick Colony of New Brunswick people