Sir Clifford Sifton, (March 10, 1861 – April 17, 1929), was a Canadian lawyer and a long-time

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 ...

politician, best known for being Minister of the Interior under 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 ...

. He was responsible for encouraging the massive amount of immigration to Canada which occurred during the first decade of the 20th century. In 1905, he broke with Laurier and resigned from cabinet over the issue of publicly funded religious education in the new provinces of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

Early life

Sifton was born in Middlesex County,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

(now

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

). Sifton's father, John Wright Sifton, was a contractor and businessman who moved with his family to

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

when Sifton was a boy. Sifton trained as a lawyer and graduated from

Victoria University in the University of Toronto Victoria University is a federated university forming part of the wider University of Toronto, and was founded in 1836. The undergraduate section of the university is Victoria College, informally ''Vic'', after the original name of the univers ...

, where he was the founding manager of ''

Acta Victoriana ''Acta Victoriana'' is the literary journal of Victoria University, Toronto. It was founded in May 1878 and is the oldest continuous university publication in Canada; its 140th volume was published in 2016. It is published twice a year. Though ori ...

''.

Political career

Manitoba provincial politics: Attorney General for Manitoba

Sifton worked on his father's political campaigns before being himself elected to the legislative assembly of Manitoba in 1888. Sifton served in the cabinet of

Thomas Greenway Thomas Greenway (March 25, 1838 – October 30, 1908) was a Canadian politician, merchant and farmer. He served as the seventh premier of Manitoba from 1888 to 1900. A Liberal, his ministry formally ended Manitoba's non-partisan government, al ...

from 1891 to 1896 as attorney general and Provincial Lands Commissioner. He played a role in negotiating the Laurier-Greenway Compromise, which temporarily resolved 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 ...

Federal politics: Minister of the Interior

In 1896, Sifton was first elected a

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 ...

after being acclaimed in a by-election in

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name *Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

. He was re-elected in the

1900 Canadian federal election The 1900 Canadian federal election was held on November 7, 1900 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 9th Parliament of Canada. As a result of the election, the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, was re-ele ...

against a strong challenge from former Manitoba premier Hugh John Macdonald. Sifton would be re-elected two more times, in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...

and 1908. Sifton was appointed Minister of the Interior under Laurier and implemented a vigorous immigration policy to encourage people to settle and populate the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. Sifton established colonial offices in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He enticed people to come to western Canada. While many of the immigrants came from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and the

, there was also, to Canada, a large influx of

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

ns,

Doukhobors The Doukhobours or Dukhobors (russian: духоборы / духоборцы, dukhobory / dukhobortsy; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are one of many non-Orthodox ethno-confessional faiths in Russia a ...

, and other groups from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He famously defended the "stalwart peasants in sheep-skin coats" who were turning some of the most difficult parts of the western plains into productive farms. Between 1891 and 1914, more than three million people came to Canada, largely from continental Europe, following the path of the newly constructed transcontinental railway. In the same period, mining industries were begun in the Klondike and the Canadian Shield. After presiding over the creation of

and

in 1905, Sifton resigned from cabinet following a dispute with Laurier over religious education. Especially later in his life, Sifton battled increasing deafness, which precluded any further potential political advances.

Later life

Sifton retired from politics in 1911 but crusaded against the government policy of reciprocity, because he believed that increased economic integration between Canada and the United States would result in Canada being taken over by the Americans. Sifton died in 1929 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he had been visiting a heart specialist. He left a fortune estimated at $3.2 million, equivalent to about $ in present-day terminology. Sifton is buried at

Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries. It was opened in November 1876 and is located north of Moore Park, a neighbourhood of Toronto. The cemetery has k ...

Family

Sifton, then a young lawyer, was married in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, on August 18, 1884, to Elizabeth Armanella Burrows. She was the daughter of Henry James Burrows and his wife, Sarah Sparks. Elizabeth was born in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, and educated at the

Ottawa Ladies' College The Ottawa Ladies' College was a Nondenominational Christianity, non-denominational Ottawa educational institution founded in 1869 for the purpose of providing a quality education to women. The private school operated on First Avenue in The Glebe ...

. The couple had five sons. She founded and presided over the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...

(WCTU) in Brandon, Manitoba. His brother-in-law

Theodore Arthur Burrows Theodore Arthur Burrows (August 15, 1857 – January 18, 1929) was a politician and office-holder in Manitoba, Canada. He served as the tenth Lieutenant Governor of the province from October 6, 1926 until his death. Burrows was born in ...

would also serve as a Liberal MP in the Laurier government, and he was later appointed the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. His brother Arthur Sifton served as the second

Premier of Alberta The premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022. The ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sifton, Clifford 1861 births 1929 deaths Canadian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Canadian people of Anglo-Irish descent Liberal Party of Canada MPs Lawyers in Manitoba University of Toronto alumni Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Middlesex County, Ontario Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba