Whelan, Edward National Historic Person
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Edward Whelan, 1865
© William Notman / Musée McCord Museum / I-18058.1
Address :
165 Richmond Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1939-05-29
Life Date:
1824 to 1867
Other Name(s):
-
Whelan, Edward
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Father of Confederation, journalist, orator
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 165 Richmond Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Born in Ireland, Whelan immigrated to Halifax c. 1836 and became a protégé of Joseph Howe. As a journalist in Charlottetown he published the short-lived Palladium in 1845, became editor of the Morning News in 1846, and founded the Examiner in 1847. A co-founder, with George Coles, of the Liberal Party, and an ardent advocate of Responsible Government for Prince Edward Island, he entered the Executive Council in 1851 and was appointed Queen's Printer shortly thereafter. He attended the Quebec Conference in 1864 and subsequently compiled the Union of the British Provinces (1865). He died at Charlottetown.