Subjective Factors
1. Groups and individuals who claimed that there was a social problem that needed to be addressed or resolved
The French-speaking and Catholic citizens of Manitoba were outraged by the new laws enacted in 1871 by the Manitoba Provincial government. These citizens claimed that their rights in the Canadian Constitution had been violated. Their complaint was led by a lawyer named John Kelly Barrett who filed a lawsuit to the Provincial Court of Manitoba on behalf of the citizens. This case was eventually heard by the Supreme Court of Canada and the British Privy Council. Although Barrett lost his case in the Provincial court, eventually after a number of years, the case was won at the level of the Privy Council who ruled that the Federal Government had the right to step in and make the Province change their laws.
The English-speaking Protestant citizens of Manitoba spoke out against the French Catholic citizens and claimed that the Manitoba government was wasting money funding two religious school systems when the enrolment in the Catholic system was significantly less than that in the Protestant schools. They argued that the government should institute new laws to keep pace with the changing demographics in their province. The cause of the English-speaking Protestants was supported by the outspoken lawyer and Conservative member of Parliament for Ontario, D`Alton McCarthy. He was anti-French and anti-Catholic and was very vocal about getting fairer representation in the provinces for English, instead of privileges for the French population that was decreasing in number.
2. How the social problem was described by the groups and individuals involved
The French-speaking Catholics in Manitoba described the social problem as one of a violation of their rights under the Manitoba Act of 1870 and the Constitution of Canada. They claimed that the Provincial government had violated their rights by changing Section 22 of the Manitoba Act which stated that the Manitoba government "could not pass educational laws that would prejudicially affect any right or privilege with respect to denominational schools" (www.manitobia.ca). In addition, the French-speaking Manitobans claimed that their Constitutional rights under the Manitoba Act had also been violated when the Provincial government passed a new law to abolish the use of French as an official language in the legislature.
The English-speaking Protestant citizens of Manitoba spoke out in favour of the new provincial laws, because they thought the government was wasting money supporting two denominational school systems when the population of Catholic`s in Manitoba had decreased substantially over the 20 years since Manitoba joined Canada. This group thought Manitoba should have new laws to keep pace with the changing demographics of the Province to make Manitoba an English Province and that the French Catholic citizens should not get preferential treatment.
3. Individuals or groups who were held responsible for the social problem
Many politicians were held responsible for the social problem that existed in Manitoba. These individuals are identified below:
Premier Thomas Greenway (1838-1908) - 7th Premier of Manitoba (1888-1900)
Greenway who was originally from Ontario, moved to Manitoba and formed the Manitoba Liberal Party. His party won a majority government in 1888, and Greenway tried to reform the railway system in Manitoba but he was unsuccessful. He then turned to reforming the education system and won approval from his provincial government legislature for a new law for the Public School System in 1890. This new law abolished the government funding of the two systems of schools for Protestants and Catholics in Manitoba. At the same time, Greenway and his party passed a second law abolishing the province's use of French language in the courts and in the legislature. When the federal government under Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell tried to force Greenway to overturn his new laws, Greenway refused. Eventually, Greenway negotiated a compromise solution with Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier, though it was an extremely unfair compromise that did not restore the rights of the French Catholic citizens. Greenway's Liberal party was defeated in 1899. Many Canadians thought Greenway's reforms were discriminatory toward minority groups and French-speaking Canadians, while others saw him as a champion of the public school system in Western Canada. Seventy years later, in the 1960's when Canada again supported bilingualism, Greenways reputation came under criticism once again.
Honourable Joseph Martin (1852-1923)- Attorney General of Manitoba & Railway Commissioner
Joseph Martin was a lawyer and member of parliament in Manitoba from 1883-1896, and was appointed Greenway's Attorney-General. In 1889, only 10% of the citizens of Manitoba spoke French, which was down from the 50% of the population in 1870. In response to public pressure about the government wasting taxpayer's money on two religious school systems, Greenway and Martin passed the new public school law in 1890 that ended French language instruction and the support for Catholic separate schools. After they announced the new school law, Attorney General Martin attended a meeting where he also announced that the government was planning on approving another new law to stop using French language in parliament and in the courts. Premier Greenway had not actually agreed to this law, but he felt trapped once Martin had made this announcement. Greenway agreed to go ahead with the new language law and became responsible for causing a national crisis about Catholic education and French language rights.
Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell (1823-1917) - 5th Prime Minister of Canada (1894-1896) and Conservative party leader
Greenway`s new laws in Manitoba in 1890 caused a crisis for Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell's Conservative Federal Government because the Protestant and Catholic members of federal parliament in his party were extremely divided on this issue. The federal government had rights in the Canadian Constitution to overrule the provincial governments and demand a better solution when decisions were made that affected education in a negative way. Prime Minister Bowell originally did not want his government to take a decision on this issue because of how controversial it was, and so he sent the issue to the Supreme Court and to the Privy Council for their discussion. Eventually Bowell's government had to intervene in the Manitoba education issue. When Bowell attempted to force Manitoba to change its new laws to defend Catholic school rights, Premier Greenway ignored Bowell's demands and said this was a Provincial government issue. Bowell lost the support of his party because of this issue and he was forced to call an election and resign from being Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Charles Tupper (1821-1915) - 6th Prime Minister of Canada (May 1, 1896-July 8, 1896) and Conservative party leader
After Prime Minister Bowell's resignation, Charles Tupper was appointed leader of the Conservative party and the 6th Prime Minister of Canada. Prime Minister Tupper gained a Conservative party that was falling apart because of the Manitoba Schools issue and he tried to lead his party into the election that Bowell had called, but was defeated by Wilfred Laurier's Liberal Party only 2 months later, primarily on the basis of the Manitoba Schools Question.
Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier (1841-1919) - 7th Prime Minister of Canada (1896-1911)
Prime Minister Laurier defeated Charles Tupper in 1896 mainly on the basis of the Manitoba Schools issue. One of the first things that he did when he became Prime Minister was he negotiated a compromise that was called his "sunny ways" solution. This solution received agreement by Greenway in Manitoba but left the Catholic French-speaking Manitobans no better off.
The French-speaking and Catholic citizens of Manitoba were outraged by the new laws enacted in 1871 by the Manitoba Provincial government. These citizens claimed that their rights in the Canadian Constitution had been violated. Their complaint was led by a lawyer named John Kelly Barrett who filed a lawsuit to the Provincial Court of Manitoba on behalf of the citizens. This case was eventually heard by the Supreme Court of Canada and the British Privy Council. Although Barrett lost his case in the Provincial court, eventually after a number of years, the case was won at the level of the Privy Council who ruled that the Federal Government had the right to step in and make the Province change their laws.
The English-speaking Protestant citizens of Manitoba spoke out against the French Catholic citizens and claimed that the Manitoba government was wasting money funding two religious school systems when the enrolment in the Catholic system was significantly less than that in the Protestant schools. They argued that the government should institute new laws to keep pace with the changing demographics in their province. The cause of the English-speaking Protestants was supported by the outspoken lawyer and Conservative member of Parliament for Ontario, D`Alton McCarthy. He was anti-French and anti-Catholic and was very vocal about getting fairer representation in the provinces for English, instead of privileges for the French population that was decreasing in number.
2. How the social problem was described by the groups and individuals involved
The French-speaking Catholics in Manitoba described the social problem as one of a violation of their rights under the Manitoba Act of 1870 and the Constitution of Canada. They claimed that the Provincial government had violated their rights by changing Section 22 of the Manitoba Act which stated that the Manitoba government "could not pass educational laws that would prejudicially affect any right or privilege with respect to denominational schools" (www.manitobia.ca). In addition, the French-speaking Manitobans claimed that their Constitutional rights under the Manitoba Act had also been violated when the Provincial government passed a new law to abolish the use of French as an official language in the legislature.
The English-speaking Protestant citizens of Manitoba spoke out in favour of the new provincial laws, because they thought the government was wasting money supporting two denominational school systems when the population of Catholic`s in Manitoba had decreased substantially over the 20 years since Manitoba joined Canada. This group thought Manitoba should have new laws to keep pace with the changing demographics of the Province to make Manitoba an English Province and that the French Catholic citizens should not get preferential treatment.
3. Individuals or groups who were held responsible for the social problem
Many politicians were held responsible for the social problem that existed in Manitoba. These individuals are identified below:
Premier Thomas Greenway (1838-1908) - 7th Premier of Manitoba (1888-1900)
Greenway who was originally from Ontario, moved to Manitoba and formed the Manitoba Liberal Party. His party won a majority government in 1888, and Greenway tried to reform the railway system in Manitoba but he was unsuccessful. He then turned to reforming the education system and won approval from his provincial government legislature for a new law for the Public School System in 1890. This new law abolished the government funding of the two systems of schools for Protestants and Catholics in Manitoba. At the same time, Greenway and his party passed a second law abolishing the province's use of French language in the courts and in the legislature. When the federal government under Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell tried to force Greenway to overturn his new laws, Greenway refused. Eventually, Greenway negotiated a compromise solution with Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier, though it was an extremely unfair compromise that did not restore the rights of the French Catholic citizens. Greenway's Liberal party was defeated in 1899. Many Canadians thought Greenway's reforms were discriminatory toward minority groups and French-speaking Canadians, while others saw him as a champion of the public school system in Western Canada. Seventy years later, in the 1960's when Canada again supported bilingualism, Greenways reputation came under criticism once again.
Honourable Joseph Martin (1852-1923)- Attorney General of Manitoba & Railway Commissioner
Joseph Martin was a lawyer and member of parliament in Manitoba from 1883-1896, and was appointed Greenway's Attorney-General. In 1889, only 10% of the citizens of Manitoba spoke French, which was down from the 50% of the population in 1870. In response to public pressure about the government wasting taxpayer's money on two religious school systems, Greenway and Martin passed the new public school law in 1890 that ended French language instruction and the support for Catholic separate schools. After they announced the new school law, Attorney General Martin attended a meeting where he also announced that the government was planning on approving another new law to stop using French language in parliament and in the courts. Premier Greenway had not actually agreed to this law, but he felt trapped once Martin had made this announcement. Greenway agreed to go ahead with the new language law and became responsible for causing a national crisis about Catholic education and French language rights.
Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell (1823-1917) - 5th Prime Minister of Canada (1894-1896) and Conservative party leader
Greenway`s new laws in Manitoba in 1890 caused a crisis for Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell's Conservative Federal Government because the Protestant and Catholic members of federal parliament in his party were extremely divided on this issue. The federal government had rights in the Canadian Constitution to overrule the provincial governments and demand a better solution when decisions were made that affected education in a negative way. Prime Minister Bowell originally did not want his government to take a decision on this issue because of how controversial it was, and so he sent the issue to the Supreme Court and to the Privy Council for their discussion. Eventually Bowell's government had to intervene in the Manitoba education issue. When Bowell attempted to force Manitoba to change its new laws to defend Catholic school rights, Premier Greenway ignored Bowell's demands and said this was a Provincial government issue. Bowell lost the support of his party because of this issue and he was forced to call an election and resign from being Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Charles Tupper (1821-1915) - 6th Prime Minister of Canada (May 1, 1896-July 8, 1896) and Conservative party leader
After Prime Minister Bowell's resignation, Charles Tupper was appointed leader of the Conservative party and the 6th Prime Minister of Canada. Prime Minister Tupper gained a Conservative party that was falling apart because of the Manitoba Schools issue and he tried to lead his party into the election that Bowell had called, but was defeated by Wilfred Laurier's Liberal Party only 2 months later, primarily on the basis of the Manitoba Schools Question.
Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier (1841-1919) - 7th Prime Minister of Canada (1896-1911)
Prime Minister Laurier defeated Charles Tupper in 1896 mainly on the basis of the Manitoba Schools issue. One of the first things that he did when he became Prime Minister was he negotiated a compromise that was called his "sunny ways" solution. This solution received agreement by Greenway in Manitoba but left the Catholic French-speaking Manitobans no better off.