William Stevens Fielding | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 7th Premier of Nova Scotia | |
| In office 28 July 1884 – 18 July 1896 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Lieutenant Governor | Matthew Henry Richey Archibald McLelan Malachy Bowes Daly |
| Preceded by | William Thomas Pipes |
| Succeeded by | George Henry Murray |
| MLA forHalifax County | |
| In office 20 June 1882 – 18 July 1896 | |
| Preceded by | Charles J. MacDonald John F. Stairs William D. Harrington John Pugh |
| Succeeded by | William Bernard Wallace |
| Member of theCanadian Parliament forShelburne and Queen's | |
| In office 5 August 1896 – 21 September 1911 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Gordon Forbes |
| Succeeded by | Fleming Blanchard McCurdy |
| In office 17 December 1917 – 29 October 1925 | |
| Preceded by | Fleming Blanchard McCurdy |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1848-11-24)24 November 1848 |
| Died | 23 June 1929(1929-06-23) (aged 80) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | Nova Scotia Liberal Party |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal Unionist Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 daughters and 1 son |
| Alma mater | Dalhousie University |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Profession | Politician |
| Cabinet | Minister of Finance (1896–1911) (1921–1925) Minister of Railways and Canals (acting) (1903–1904) (1907) |
William Stevens Fielding,PC (24 November 1848 – 23 June 1929) was a Canadian Liberal politician, the seventhpremier of Nova Scotia (1884–96), and the federalMinister of Finance from 1896 to 1911 and again from 1921 to 1925.
He was born inHalifax, Nova Scotia. Fielding became leader of theAnti-Confederation Party (Nova Scotia Liberal Party). In 1884, he became Premier and won the 1886 election on a pledge to remove Nova Scotia from confederation. When he failed to do this, he turned to economic matters including developing the coal industry.
The Liberal Party of Nova Scotia fared poorly in national elections during the 1880s and early 1890s. The national party advocated policies that would discontinue the national coal subsidy and, for all practical purposes, eliminate Catholic schools in Manitoba, policies disliked by provincial coal miners and Catholics respectively. Fielding forged a more moderate coal policy and defused the school issue, winning back Catholics. Thus in 1896 the provincial Liberals improved their showing in the national election.[1]
In 1896, he left provincial politics to become Minister of Finance in theLiberal government of SirWilfrid Laurier. In 1910, he negotiated areciprocity orfree trade agreement with theUnited States which led to the government's defeat in the1911 general election. Fielding lost his seat, and became editor of theDaily Telegraph ofMontreal.
Fielding supported theUnionist government of SirRobert Borden during theConscription Crisis of 1917 and returned to theHouse of Commons as aLiberal-Unionist member.
Fielding had widely been seen as Laurier's successor but his split with the party over theconscription issue cost him the1919 Liberal leadership convention where he lost toWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King by 38 votes.
He served again asMinister of Finance in King's first government formed after the1921 election. Fielding's health began to deteriorate in the years after the election, and while he nominally remained as Finance Minister through King's first parliamentary term, Minister of Trade and CommerceJames Robb effectively took over the role from late 1923 onwards. King's government fell in September 1925 when parliament unexpectedly voted to reject that year's budget. Fielding, recognising that he would likely not survive another full parliamentary term and that his political career was at its end, publicly took responsibility for the rejection of the budget, announcing his resignation as Finance Minister and that he would not seek re-election, saving Robb (who had actually been responsible for getting the budget passed) from having to resign.[2]
In 1923, Fielding was sworn into thePrivy Council of the United Kingdom allowing him to be styled asRight Honourable, a rare privilege among Canadians who have not served as Prime Minister, Governor-General, or Chief Justice of Canada.[citation needed]
He died inOttawa.[citation needed]
| Before Confederation (1848–1867) | |
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| Post-Confederation (1867–present) | |
| International | |
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| National | |
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