Actions and Responses
"Slippery Ice" political cartoon with Bowell and Laurier
This political cartoon depicts Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell facing the difficult decision of whether to force Manitoba to change its new public school law ("Remedial Legislation") or to choose not to interfere at all with the problem in his own country. This issue caused Bowell's resignation. His political rival Wilfrid Laurier watches on, standing on the side of "Non Interference". Laurier in reality when he became Prime Minister did not fully commit to either side, but in his compromise with Tupper he chose more of a non-interfering approach.
Newspaper Article published in the Telegram on November 17, 1896 outlining the Laurier-Greenway compromise
Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier did very little to help the Franco-Manitoban situation with his compromise agreement with the Manitoba Greenway government in the first year of becoming Prime Minister in 1896. The terms of the compromise solution are outlined in this article. The solution was considered extremely inadequate by the Catholic and French-speaking citizens of Manitoba. Pope Leo XIII asked the Catholics to accept this settlement and to continue fighting to get their rights restored.
Newspaper Article published in the Daily Nor'Wester on December 23, 1896
This article shows that not all of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's party members supported his compromise settlement with the Manitoba Provincial government. Here one of his members of parliament named Charles Angers resigned in protest against the decision which did not right the wrongdoings against the French-speaking Catholics in Manitoba.