Andrew George Blair
Andrew George Blair (
March 7,
1844 –
January 25,
1907) was a politician in
New Brunswick,
Canada.
He was first elected to the
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in
1878 after unsuccessful attempts in the previous two elections. Though Blair was a supporter of Sir
John A. Macdonald's federal
Liberal-Conservatives, he joined the
parliamentary opposition in the legislature and, in 1879, became
leader of the opposition to the
Conservative government of
Premier John James Fraser. He molded the disparate opposition into the modern
Liberal Party of New Brunswick, instituting party platforms or
manifestos. He launched the first province-wide political campaign in an era when campaign had been run largely on a
constituency basis. He took the party to power in
1873, winning enough support in the newly-elected legislature to form a government. Blair became premier and
Attorney-General.
Blair's government built a three-quarters of a mile long
bridge across the
Saint John River, linking
Fredericton with villages and factories on the other side of the river. His government also went to court to win the right to grant
liquor licenses. He also extended the
franchise, which had been exclusively male, to widows and unmarried women who owned property. He was opposed, however, to universal
female suffrage. His government also abolished the
Legislative Council (the legislature's
Upper House).
The Liberal government almost lost the 1889 election but was able to stay in power with the support of independent
Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). Blair lost his own
seat in the 1892 election, due to
Protestant opposition to his policy of accommodating
Acadians and other
Catholics. Blair had appointed several Acadians and other Catholics to his
cabinet and other government positions. Blair was able to re-enter the house through a
by-election.
After leading his party to a major electoral victory in
1895, Blair left provincial politics in
1896 when he was appointed minister of railways and canals in the
federal Cabinet of
Liberal Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier. He entered the
Canadian House of Commons in an 1896
by-election, and was re-elected in the
1900 election.
In 1901, Blair's daughter Bessie drowned in the
Ottawa River, after
Henry Harper dove in to try and rescue her.
Blair resigned from the government in July 1903 in opposition to Laurier's plan to build the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.
In order to prevent him from becoming a major opposition figure, Laurier appointed Blair to head the Board of Railway Commissioners in December 1903, taking Blair out of active politics and out of the House of Commons. However, Blair resigned from the Board sixteen days before the
1904 election in order to campaign against Laurier. He withdrew from the campaign, however, after discussions with Laurier.
He died on
January 25,
1907 of a heart attack.
*
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
