Alexander Tilloch Galt
Encyclopedia
Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, GCMG
, PC
(September 6, 1817 – September 19, 1893) was a politician and a father of Canadian Confederation
.
He was born in Chelsea, England, the son of Scottish novelist and colonizer, John Galt, and Elizabeth Tilloch Galt. He was a cousin of Sir Hugh Allan
.
Alexander Galt is interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery
in Montreal, Quebec. In Lennoxville, Quebec
, the Alexander Galt High School was named in his honour.
government in the Province of Canada
that secured Confederation between 1864 and 1867. He became a leading figure in the creation of the Coalition when he was asked to become premier of the Province of Canada by then Governor General Sir Edmund Walker Head
. Doubting his own ability to demand the loyalty of the majority of members of the Legislative Assembly
, he turned down the position, but recommended that George-Étienne Cartier
and John A. Macdonald
be asked to become co-leaders of the new government.
In return, Cartier and Macdonald asked him to become Inspector-General of Canada. He accepted the post on the condition that Macdonald and Cartier made Confederation a key platform in their new government. In 1858, Alexander Tilloch Galt made a motion in the Legislature at Kingston recommending that the Province of Canada ask the British Government to create a federal union of British North America
(Canada East
and West, Prince Edward Island
, Newfoundland, New Brunswick
, and Nova Scotia
) and Rupert's Land
(owned by the Hudson's Bay Company
). The motion succeeded, and Alexander Galt, John Ross
, and Sir George-Étienne Cartier went to London to begin the long process of convincing the British to make British North America into the first sovereign Dominion within the British Empire
.
As Inspector General, Galt reformed the Province of Canada's banking system trade policies. He was the main architect of the Cayley-Galt Tariff
, which protected colonial businesses and caused consternation in both Britain and the United States.
July 1, 1867, Canada East and West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia became the first provinces in British North America to form the Dominion of Canada. Galt served as the first Minister of Finance in the new confederation. As minister of Finance, he reversed many of his earlier policies, promoting trade within the British Empire.
Galt was sent to London to be Canada's informal representative there. As this was the only important office of the Canadian government overseas at the time, he also travelled to France and Spain to negotiate trade deal with those nations. The British government knew of these trips and was not pleased that Canada had developed a foreign policy separate from the Empire. The British demanded that Galt's position be formalized, and in late 1880, he became the first Canadian High Commissioner
in London
. He left his post on 1 June 1883.
John Torrance. She died on May 25, 1850, shortly after giving birth to their only son, Elliott. Later he married her younger sister, Amy Gordon Torrance. They, well you know, made kids. Amy gave birth to 7 daughters and 2 more sons. Galt appears to have a very non-sectarian approach to religious faith, Although the grandson of a Calvinist theologian, Alexander Galt supported both the Methodist and Anglican churches while his wife, Amy, was a lifelong Presbyterian.
, Alberta in 1883, when he established a mine on the banks of the Oldman River
in the southwest portion of the District of Alberta
, Northwest Territories. The Canadian Post Office refused to accept the name Lethbridge for the community until 1885 because there was another town with the same name in the Dominion of Canada. Sir Alexander Galt laid out the street plan of Lethbridge's present location in 1885 after his settlement was moved to the prairie level from the river valley. Canada's Governor General, the Marquis of Landsdowne
, demonstrated the Dominion government's support of the Galt enterprises, by opening the Galts' railway in September 1885 in Lethbridge.
Galt's company, the North Western Coal and Navigation Company
went through a variety of name changes as it moved into railways, and irrigation enterprises. A public park
and a museum
(formerly a hospital) in Lethbridge are named after him. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier
dedicated the Galt Hospital addition, which houses the Galt Museum, in 1910.
Sir Alexander was the founding President of The Guarantee Company of North America
in 1872, providing fidelity bonds to guarantee the sty of employees of railroads and government, which still exists today as the largest provider of surety bonds in all of Canada in public works and government services.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, PC
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(September 6, 1817 – September 19, 1893) was a politician and a father of Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
.
He was born in Chelsea, England, the son of Scottish novelist and colonizer, John Galt, and Elizabeth Tilloch Galt. He was a cousin of Sir Hugh Allan
Hugh Allan
Sir Hugh Allan, KCMG was a Scottish-born Canadian shipping magnate, railway promoter, financier and capitalist...
.
Alexander Galt is interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery
Mount Royal Cemetery
Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165-acre terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The burial ground shares the mountain with the much larger adjacent Roman Catholic cemetery -- Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges...
in Montreal, Quebec. In Lennoxville, Quebec
Lennoxville, Quebec
Lennoxville is an arrondissement, or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometers south of downtown Sherbrooke....
, the Alexander Galt High School was named in his honour.
Politics
He was a member of the Great CoalitionGreat Coalition
The Great Coalition was a grand coalition of the political parties of the two Canadas in 1864. The previous collapse after only three months of a coalition government formed by George-Étienne Cartier, George Brown and John A. MacDonald. The Great Coalition was formed to stop the political deadlock...
government in the Province of Canada
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
that secured Confederation between 1864 and 1867. He became a leading figure in the creation of the Coalition when he was asked to become premier of the Province of Canada by then Governor General Sir Edmund Walker Head
Edmund Walker Head
Sir Edmund Walker Head, 8th Baronet, KCB was British colonial administrator.He was born at Wiarton Place, near Maidstone, Kent, the son of Reverend Sir John Head, 7th Bt. and Jane Head. He was educated at Winchester College and Oriel College, Oxford. He succeeded to his father's title in 1838...
. Doubting his own ability to demand the loyalty of the majority of members of the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the...
, he turned down the position, but recommended that George-Étienne Cartier
George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, PC was a French-Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.The English spelling of the name, George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling, is explained by his having been named in honour of King George III....
and John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
be asked to become co-leaders of the new government.
In return, Cartier and Macdonald asked him to become Inspector-General of Canada. He accepted the post on the condition that Macdonald and Cartier made Confederation a key platform in their new government. In 1858, Alexander Tilloch Galt made a motion in the Legislature at Kingston recommending that the Province of Canada ask the British Government to create a federal union of British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
(Canada East
Canada East
Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canadian Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French-speaking region....
and West, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, Newfoundland, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
) and Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
(owned by the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
). The motion succeeded, and Alexander Galt, John Ross
John Ross (Canadian politician)
John Ross was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and businessman.Born in County Antrim, Ireland, he was brought to Canada as an infant. Ross married twice, first to Margaret Crawford who died in 1847, secondly to Augusta Elizabeth Baldwin 4 February 1851, the daughter of Robert Baldwin...
, and Sir George-Étienne Cartier went to London to begin the long process of convincing the British to make British North America into the first sovereign Dominion within the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
.
As Inspector General, Galt reformed the Province of Canada's banking system trade policies. He was the main architect of the Cayley-Galt Tariff
Cayley-Galt Tariff
The Cayley-Galt Tariff of 1858 was the first protective tariff in Canadian history. It imposed duties on imported manufactured goods of 20% and a duty of 10% on partially manufactured goods in an attempt to spur domestic manufacturing industries....
, which protected colonial businesses and caused consternation in both Britain and the United States.
July 1, 1867, Canada East and West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia became the first provinces in British North America to form the Dominion of Canada. Galt served as the first Minister of Finance in the new confederation. As minister of Finance, he reversed many of his earlier policies, promoting trade within the British Empire.
Galt was sent to London to be Canada's informal representative there. As this was the only important office of the Canadian government overseas at the time, he also travelled to France and Spain to negotiate trade deal with those nations. The British government knew of these trips and was not pleased that Canada had developed a foreign policy separate from the Empire. The British demanded that Galt's position be formalized, and in late 1880, he became the first Canadian High Commissioner
High Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He left his post on 1 June 1883.
Family
On February 9, 1848, he married Elliott Torrance, the daughter of Montreal merchantMerchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
John Torrance. She died on May 25, 1850, shortly after giving birth to their only son, Elliott. Later he married her younger sister, Amy Gordon Torrance. They, well you know, made kids. Amy gave birth to 7 daughters and 2 more sons. Galt appears to have a very non-sectarian approach to religious faith, Although the grandson of a Calvinist theologian, Alexander Galt supported both the Methodist and Anglican churches while his wife, Amy, was a lifelong Presbyterian.
Business ventures
Sir Alexander Galt and his son Elliott Torrance Galt co-founded the Town of LethbridgeLethbridge
Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...
, Alberta in 1883, when he established a mine on the banks of the Oldman River
Oldman River
The Oldman River is a river in southern Alberta, Canada. It flows roughly west to east from the Rocky Mountains, through the communities of Fort Macleod, Lethbridge, Taber, and on to Grassy Lake, where it joins with the Bow River to form the South Saskatchewan River, which eventually drains into...
in the southwest portion of the District of Alberta
District of Alberta
The District of Alberta was one of four districts of the Northwest Territories created in 1882. It was styled the Alberta Provisional District to distinguish it from the District of Keewatin which had a more autonomous relationship from the NWT administration...
, Northwest Territories. The Canadian Post Office refused to accept the name Lethbridge for the community until 1885 because there was another town with the same name in the Dominion of Canada. Sir Alexander Galt laid out the street plan of Lethbridge's present location in 1885 after his settlement was moved to the prairie level from the river valley. Canada's Governor General, the Marquis of Landsdowne
Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC was a British politician and Irish peer who served successively as the fifth Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs...
, demonstrated the Dominion government's support of the Galt enterprises, by opening the Galts' railway in September 1885 in Lethbridge.
Galt's company, the North Western Coal and Navigation Company
North Western Coal and Navigation Company
The North Western Coal and Navigation Company also known as Alberta Coal and Railway Company, was a coal mining company formed in 1882 by Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, one of Canada's Fathers of Confederation...
went through a variety of name changes as it moved into railways, and irrigation enterprises. A public park
Galt Gardens
Galt Gardens is a urban park located in downtown Lethbridge, Alberta. It is the location of many of the city's festivals and is also the home of the Southern Alberta Art Gallery.-History:...
and a museum
Galt Museum & Archives
Galt Museum & Archives is the primary museum in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, and is the largest museum in the province south of Calgary. In 2006, the museum cared for a growing collection of over 20,000 artifacts and 300,000 archival documents and photographs record the history of Lethbridge and...
(formerly a hospital) in Lethbridge are named after him. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
dedicated the Galt Hospital addition, which houses the Galt Museum, in 1910.
Sir Alexander was the founding President of The Guarantee Company of North America
The Guarantee Company of North America
The Guarantee Company of North America , founded in 1872, is currently the largest purveyor of contract surety and fidelity bonding in Canada....
in 1872, providing fidelity bonds to guarantee the sty of employees of railroads and government, which still exists today as the largest provider of surety bonds in all of Canada in public works and government services.