Donald Farquharson (July 27, 1834 – June 26, 1903) was a Canadian politician who served as the eighth

premier of Prince Edward Island The premier of Prince Edward Island is the first minister and head of government for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The current premier of Prince Edward Island is Dennis King (politician), Den ...

. A native of

Mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

, Farquharson had been a teacher and then a businessman involved in wholesale and shipping. He was elected to the legislature 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 ...

in 1876 and joined the government of

Louis Henry Davies Sir Louis Henry Davies (May 4, 1845May 1, 1924) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman and politician, and judge from the province of Prince Edward Island. In a public career spanning six decades, he served as the third premier of Prince Edward Is ...

in 1878 until the Davies administration fell the next year. Farquharson sat in

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

until the Liberals won the 1891 election. He became

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

in August 1898 but, in 1901, he was persuaded to run in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to the federal

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. ...

since PEI Liberals hoped that as a former Premier, he would be elevated to the

Canadian cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the Ca ...

guaranteeing the island's representation in government. Farquharson won the by-election but Sir

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 ...

appointed a westerner to cabinet instead leaving Farquharson on the

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

es until his death in 1903. During Farquharson's premiership the provincial legislature passed the ''

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 alcoholic ...

Act'' (or ''Scott Act'') which implemented a complete ban on alcohol sales and production in the province starting in 1901. It would not be repealed until 1948.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farquharson, Donald 1834 births 1903 deaths Canadian Presbyterians Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Prince Edward Island People from Queens County, Prince Edward Island Premiers of Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs Prince Edward Island Liberal Party leaders

See also

External links