Lawyer and politician, Laurier was born at Saint-Lin. A member of the Legislative Assembly (1871-4), and later of the House of Commons, he was Minister of Internal Revenue in the Mackenzie government, and became leader of the Liberal Party in 1887, continuing in that position until his death. Prime Minister from 1896 to 1911, he was the first French Canadian to hold that office and did so during a period of remarkable economic expansion. Nevertheless, his greatest contribution to Canada, and that to which he devoted his whole career, was the development of a genuine sense of national unity. He died at Ottawa.

Born in Saint-Lin, Laurier was Canada’s first Francophone prime minister. This skilful and charismatic politician was a Member of Parliament for a phenomenal 45 years and leader of the Liberal Party for 32 years. As Prime Minister from 1896 to 1911, a time of great political and economic change, he presided over the development and settlement of the West, created the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and formed the Canadian Navy. This remarkable conciliator achieved greater autonomy for Canada within the British Empire while working tirelessly to find common ground between English- and French-speaking Canadians.