Sir Oliver Mowat 1820-1903

Born in Kingston, where he was trained as a lawyer, Oliver Mowat served as a Toronto alderman before his election to the legislature of the united Canadas as a Reformer in 1857. He joined the Great Coalition in 1864 and attended the Quebec Conference. From 1872 to 1896 he served as premier and attorney-general of Ontario, a period of office noted for the introduction of the ballot (1874), the extension of the franchise (1888), and a determined fight for provincial rights. In 1896 Mowat was named to the Senate and became Minister of Justice in the Laurier cabinet, but he resigned the next year to become lieutenant-governor of Ontario.