Edward Palmer (September 1, 1809 – November 3, 1889) 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 ...

politician born at

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

and resided in Prince Edward Island until his death. He is considered one of the Fathers of

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 Canada, Dom ...

, despite his opposition to Confederation, as he was a delegate to both the

and Québec Conferences.

Early life

Edward Palmer was the son of

James Bardin Palmer James Bardin Palmer (ca 1771 – March 3, 1833) was an Irish-born land agent, lawyer and politician in Prince Edward Island. He represented Charlottetown in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1806 to 1818. He was born in ...

, an Irish barrister who had come to the Island at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and Millicent Jones. He attended grammar school before becoming a law clerk in his father's law firm. He was called to the bar in 1830 and thereafter he worked as a lawyer, land agent, land proprietor, politician, a judge, being appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1873. He was a very active politician and later a judge. He married Isabella Tremain in 1846. He acted as a land agent and was a landed proprietor but, after experiencing long term conflict with his tenant farmers, he sold his substantial landholdings in 1870.

Political life

He was elected as member of the

Prince Edward Island House of Assembly A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

for Charlottetown and Quebec in 1835. He soon established himself as one of the leading Conservatives. He was often viewed as a champion of the status quo, being against responsible government, against union of the colonies of British North America, and against land reform. He was also much given to conflict in the assembly, frequently arguing with both

George Coles George Coles may refer to: * George Coles (Cambridge University cricketer) (1798–1865), English amateur cricketer * George Coles (politician) George Coles (September 20, 1810 – August 21, 1875) was a Canadian politician, being the first ...

and Edward Whelan. In 1849, Palmer became the leader of the Tories in the provincial assembly. In 1859, he became premier, only to be pushed from office by his colleague

John Hamilton Gray John Hamilton Gray may refer to two 19th-century Canadian politicians: *John Hamilton Gray (Prince Edward Island politician) (1811–1887), Premier of Prince Edward Island *John Hamilton Gray (New Brunswick politician) John Hamilton Gray, (1 ...

in 1863. He was first appointed to the Legislative Council in 1860 and when that body became elective he retained his seat. His views against

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

placed him in direct opposition to John Hamilton Gray. Their conflict fractured the Tory party and damaged the union cause, eventually resulting in both Palmer and Gray resigning from Cabinet. Palmer, however, retained his position as attorney general. Palmer remained ardently opposed to Confederation after 1864. He also opposed the "Better Terms" offer made by Canada in 1869. Instead, he favoured a free trade deal between Prince Edward Island and the United States. In 1872, Palmer changed parties and joined the Liberal, anti-Confederation government of

Robert Poore Haythorne Robert Poore Haythorne (2 December 1815 – 7 May 1891) was a Prince Edward Island politician and premier. He was born in England to a prominent family, his father having been mayor of Bristol on several occasions. Haythorne arrived in Princ ...

. When the financial burden of a railway project forced Prince Edward Island to the brink of economic collapse it was the Haythorne government, of which Palmer was a member, that sought the union with Canada in 1873. After Prince Edward Island joined the Confederation, Palmer became a Queens County judge and was later elevated to Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island, holding that title until his death.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Edward 1809 births 1889 deaths Fathers of Confederation Premiers of Prince Edward Island People from Charlottetown Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island leaders Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island MLAs Canadian King's Counsel Colony of Prince Edward Island people Attorneys General of the Colony of Prince Edward Island