Why is Canada’s First World War prime minister, Sir Robert Borden hanging at the Perth Royal Canadian Legion?

Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston MPP Randy Hillier presented a portrait of Canada’s eighth prime minister, who served from 1911 to 1920, to the legion on Friday, Nov. 15, which has been hung near the First World War section inside the the Hall of Remembrance at the legion.

From left, Perth Royal Canadian Legion president Jim Boldt, MPP Randy Hillier, Stacey Niceliu, and Hall of Remembrance curator John Gemmell, on Nov. 15, 2019. Hillier and Niceliu are holding a portrait of Sir Robert Borden in the hall's section commemorating the First World War. - Photo submitted by Perth Royal Canadian Legion

At first, “the portrait was thought to have been signed by Sir Borden, but it has turned out that it is a portrait/signature print distributed by the Hough Litho Co. Ltd., from Toronto,” wrote Stacey Niceliu, of the legion branch, during an email exchange, on Tuesday, Dec. 3. “Nevertheless, it is still an old portrait of a famous Canadian, and will adorn our First World War room at the museum.”

Just who was Sir Robert Borden?

Born: June 26, 1854, Grand Pre, Nova Scotia.

Died: June 10, 1937, Ottawa, Ontario.

Occupations: Teacher at private academies in Nova Scotia and New Jersey. Then became a lawyer in Halifax, being called to the bar in 1878. By 1890, he was the head of a prestigious firm in Halifax. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1896. After leaving office in 1920, he went into business, and served as the chancellor of Queen’s University, Kingston, from 1924 to 1930.

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada: 1901 to 1920

Prime Minister duration: Oct. 10, 1911 to July 10, 1920.

Notable Events/Acts as PM:

• Canada enters the First World War (1914).

• Passage of the War Measures Act (1914).

• National Research Council founded (1916).

• Women achieve the right to vote (1918).

• Canada signs the Treaty of Versailles (1919), having won the right to sit as its own country at the peace conference after the war, achieving Dominion status.

• Canada joins the League of Nations (1919).

• Suppression of the Winnipeg General Strike (1919).

• Conscription crisis (1917).

• Introduction of income tax (1917).

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