Dalton McCarthy (October 10, 1836 – May 11, 1898), or D'Alton McCarthy, 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 ...
lawyer and
parliamentarian. He was the leader of the "Orange" or Protestant Irish, and fiercely fought against Irish Catholics as well as the French Catholics. He especially crusaded for the abolition of the French language in Manitoba and Ontario schools.
McCarthy was first elected to the
House of Commons of Canada in the
1878 federal election as a
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
. An
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
-born
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, McCarthy was stridently anti-
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and anti-
French Canadian. He broke with the Conservatives in the 1890s, running and being re-elected as an Independent
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) in the
1891 election. He appears to have been associated with the
Equal Rights Party which ran in that election but did not run as their candidate.
It was his firm, Boulton & McCarthy in Barrie, that was the first incarnation of what is now Canada's largest law firm,
McCarthy Tétrault
McCarthy Tétrault LLP is a leading Canadian law firm that delivers integrated business law, litigation services, tax law, real property law, labour and employment law nationally and globally through offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Mon ...
. He appeared in the
Supreme Court of Canada in the significant constitutional case of
Citizens Insurance Co of Canada v Parsons, arguing successfully on behalf of two individuals claiming compensation under fire insurance policies.
[''Citizens' and The Queen Ins. Cos. v. Parsons; Western Ins. Co. v. Johnston'' (1880), 4 SCR 215.]
/ref> The case helped establish the scope of provincial jurisdiction in contract matters. He also defended Emily Stowe
Emily Howard Stowe (née Jennings, May 1, 1831 – April 30, 1903) was a Canadian physician who was the first female physician to practise in Canada, the second licensed female physician in Canada and an activist for women's rights and suff ...
in the 1879 abortion trial of Emily Stowe.
McCarthy was a founder of the " Imperial Federation League", which proposed uniting the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and the emerging dominions under a central Cabinet government responsible to an Imperial Parliament elected from throughout the Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
. McCarthy ran his own slate of McCarthyite candidates in the 1896 election, but was the only one elected.
Following the 1896 election, McCarthy forged an alliance with Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...
's Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
. He would likely have been appointed to cabinet in 1898 had he not died following a carriage accident.
McCarthy was a key figure in the Manitoba Schools Question
The Manitoba Schools Question () was a political crisis in the Canadian province of Manitoba that occurred late in the 19th century, attacking publicly-funded separate schools for Roman Catholics and Protestants. The crisis was precipitated by a se ...
, and a major proponent in pushing English only in legislatures, courts, and schools of Western Canada.
Archives
There is a Dalton McCarthy fonds
In archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and that have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be the writings of a poe ...
at Library and Archives Canada. Archival reference number is R4370.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Dalton
1836 births
1898 deaths
Lawyers in Ontario
Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs
Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons
Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
People from Blackrock, Dublin
Politicians from Simcoe County
Pre-Confederation Ontario people
Accidental deaths in Ontario
Canadian Protestants