Dominick Edward Blake (13 October 1833 – 1 March 1912) was a Canadian politician and lawyer who was the second premier of Ontario from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

from 1880 to 1887. He is one of three federal permanent Liberal leaders never to become

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

, the others being Stéphane Dion and the latter's immediate successor

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff ( ; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a historian, Ignatieff has ...

. He may be said to have served in the national politics of what developed as the affairs of three nationalities: Canadian, British, and Irish. Blake was also the founder, in 1856, of the Canadian law firm now known as Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. After retiring from Canadian politics, Blake served four terms as an MP in the United Kingdom Parliament representating the Irish National Federation and then the Irish Parliamentary Party.

Early years

Blake was born in 1833, in Adelaide Township, Middlesex County,

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

, the son of William Hume Blake and Catherine Honoria Hume. Blake moved with his family in 1834 to Toronto and was educated at Upper Canada College. In 1856, after Blake was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

, he entered into partnership with Stephen M. Jarvis in Toronto to practice law. When his brother Samuel Hume Blake joined soon thereafter, the firm became Blake & Blake. Today it is known as Blake, Cassels & Graydon. As a consequence of the ruling of the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

in ''Long v The Bishop of Cape Town'', Blake offered a legal opinion to Benjamin Cronyn (then Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Huron) on the legality of the convening of a Provincial Synod of the various Dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada by Francis Fulford (then Bishop of Montreal and Metropolitan of Canada). He determined that the concurrence of all of the Dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province would be required prior to the creation of the Provincial Synod, and therefore no such Synod could legally be convened until the entity first existed. This opinion was read into the Minutes of the seventh session of the Synod of the Diocese of Huron which convened in June 1864.

Political career

Edward Blake Vanity Fair 11 January 1894

Canada

Blake was recruited into active politics by George Brown, elected Member of the Provincial Parliament ( Durham West and Bruce South) became leader of the Ontario Liberal Party in 1868 and premier in 1871, but left provincial politics to run in the 1872 federal election, in which he was re-elected. The "

dual mandate A dual mandate occurs when an official serves in or holds multiple public positions simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain, double-dipping in the United States, and ''cumul des mandats'' in France. Thus, if ...

" rule that allowed a politician to sit simultaneously in a provincial and federal house had been abolished, and Blake chose to abandon his career in provincial politics. He played a major role in exposing the government of Sir John A. Macdonald's complicity in the Pacific Scandal forcing the government's resignation. Blake was offered the prime ministership, but turned it down due to ill health. When the Liberals won the subsequent 1874 federal election, Blake joined the cabinet of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie and served as Minister of Justice and President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. From 1876 to 1900, he was the chancellor of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. The Liberals were defeated in the 1878 election, and Blake succeeded Mackenzie as party leader in 1880. He failed to defeat Macdonald's Conservatives in the 1882 or 1887 elections. Blake resigned as Liberal leader in 1887, recruiting

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

as his successor, and left the

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in 1891.

Ireland

In the 1892 election, Blake entered the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

as an

Irish Nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of South Longford in the midlands of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In 1895, he was appointed to the Royal Commission on the Financial Relations between Great Britain and Ireland, which reported in 1896. Laurier sought several times for Blake's return to Canada by offering him nominations for the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and other judicial appointments. However, Blake felt committed to his new role and was particularly committed to home rule in Ireland. His idea of an Irish nation state within a federal empire met with little support. In May 1907 he suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and was partially paralyzed on the left side of his body. He left the British House of Commons in August 1907 upon his appointment as the Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds (a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

office used to effect resignation) and retired to Canada.

Contributions to Canadian federalism

He is perhaps best remembered for the arguments that he made to the

in favour of the Provinces in interpreting the ''British North America Act''. In 1888, he argued the case of '' St. Catharines Milling v. The Queen'' in which the federal government was claiming the right to issue timber licenses. This speech was quoted in its entirety in the 1960 report of the Quebec Royal Commission of Inquiry on Constitutional Problems, which influenced many Quebecers, including

René Lévesque René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, ...

: He won the case, and the Privy Council consistently afterwards took the side of the provinces.

Family

Edward Blake married Margaret Cronyn, the daughter of Benjamin Cronyn and Margaret Ann (Bickerstaff), in 1856. She was born in 1835 and was educated at

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

and in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Mrs. Blake practiced benevolent and other useful work. She was a member of the Toronto Ladies' Educational Association and served as the Honorary President of the Canadian Branch of the McAll Association in Toronto. She also frequently accompanied her husband on his political tours. The couple had seven children, four of whom survived them. Their daughter Sophia Hume Blake married George M. Wrong and was the mother of Hume Wrong.

Electoral history

United Kingdom (Ireland)

Federal (Canada)

On Mr. Blake's appointment as Minister without Portfolio, 7 November 1873: By-Election: On Mr. Blake's appointment as Minister of Justice, 19 May 1875:

Provincial (Ontario)

Bruce South

Durham West

References

External links

* *
Edward Blake family fonds
Archives of Ontario * * Ronan O'Brien

''Irish Times'', 13 August 2007 (subscription required)
Edward Blake archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Record Management Services
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Edward 1833 births 1912 deaths Anti-Parnellite MPs Canadian Anglicans Canadian nationalists Canadian people of Anglo-Irish descent Canadian King's Counsel Chancellors of the University of Toronto Irish nationalists Irish Parliamentary Party MPs Lawyers in Ontario Leaders of the Liberal Party of Canada Leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party Leaders of the opposition (Canada) Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Longford constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Premiers of Ontario Treasurers of the Law Society of Upper Canada UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Upper Canada College alumni Burials at St. James Cemetery, Toronto 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario