David Laird, 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,...

 (March 12, 1833 – January 12, 1914) was the first resident Lieutenant Governor of Northwest Territories, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He was the fifth Lieutenant Governor in charge of the territory.

He was born in New Glasgow

New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island

New Glasgow is an unincorporated area located in Queens County in the central portion of Prince Edward Island, south-west of North Rustico. It is situated on the Hunter River.-Climate:-External links:*...

, 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...

, the son of Alexander Laird

Alexander Laird

Alexander Laird was a Scottish-born farmer and political figure in Prince Edward Island. He represented 1st Queens from 1850 to 1853 and from 1854 to 1859 as a Conservative and 2nd Queens from 1859 to 1866 as a Liberal in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island.A native of Kilmacolm, he...

, a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 immigrant.

He was Member of Parliament for Queen's County

Queen's County (electoral district)

Queen's County was a federal electoral district in Prince Edward Island, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1873 to 1896.This riding was created in 1873 when Prince Edward Island joined the Canadian Confederation....

 Prince Edward Island from 1873 to 1876 for the Liberal Party of Canada

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

. During his term in parliament he served as Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs, and Minister of the Interior

Minister of the Interior (Canada)

The Minister of the Interior was a cabinet post responsible for federal land management, Indian affairs and natural resources extraction...

. During his tenure as Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs, he championed the Indian Act through the Parliament, a legislation that would enable the government to realize its ultimate goal of paternalistically civilizing the natives of Canada. He earned the name 'He Whose Tongue is Not Forked'.

In 1874 he paved the way for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

 and Dominion Telegraph by negotiating the Qu'Appelle Lakes Treaty

Treaty 4

Treaty 4 was a treaty established between Queen Victoria and the Cree and Saulteaux First Nations. The area covered by Treaty 4 represents most of current day southern Saskatchewan, plus small portions of what are today western Manitoba and southeastern Alberta....

 with local First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 groups in southern Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, to procure land for the railway and telegraph lines.

In 1876 he was appointed the new Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories — great change would happen under his tenure as he would order the capital

History of Northwest Territories capital cities

The history of Northwest Territories capital cities begins with the purchase of the Territories by Canada from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869 and includes a varied and often difficult evolution. Northwest Territories is unique amongst the other provinces and territories of Canada in that it has...

 would be moved from Fort Livingstone

Fort Livingstone, Saskatchewan

Fort Livingstone was founded as an outpost in Northwest Territories, Canada.The outpost briefly served as the capital city for North-West Territories government for the years of 1874 to 1876, and headquarters for the North-West Mounted Police for the same period, until they moved headquarters to...

 to Battleford.

After his term as Lieutenant Governor expired, he returned to Prince Edward Island to run again for parliament. He was defeated in the election of 1882

Canadian federal election, 1882

The Canadian federal election of 1882 was held on June 20, 1882 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Canada.Prime Minister Sir John A...

. After his defeat, he served as editor of the Charlottetown Patriot a newspaper in Charlottetown, until 1889.

He later moved back west to Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

 and became president of the Manitoba Historical and Scientific Society from 1903 to 1904.

He was appointed Indian Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and Keewatin, and held that position until his death. After 1909 he also became an advisor for the Department of Indian Affairs.

Laird died in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 on January 12, 1914. The town of Laird, Saskatchewan

Laird, Saskatchewan

-External links:*******...

was named in his honour.