Frederick Langdon Davis, (August 6, 1868 – April 9, 1951) was a lawyer and political figure in
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Win ...
, Canada. He represented
Neepawa
Neepawa is a town in Manitoba, Canada located on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection with Highway 5. its population was 5,685. Neepawa was incorporated as a town in 1883. It is bordered by the Municipality of North Cypress – Langford and ...
in the
House of Commons of Canada as a
Unionist member.
He was born in
Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Belleville is between Ottawa and Toronto, along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Its popula ...
, the son of James A. Davis and Sarah Way. Davis came to
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...
in 1881 and studied at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.[Neepawa
Neepawa is a town in Manitoba, Canada located on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection with Highway 5. its population was 5,685. Neepawa was incorporated as a town in 1883. It is bordered by the Municipality of North Cypress – Langford and ...](_blank)
. Davis was president of the local board of trade and served on the school board. In 1895, he married Elizabeth Ellen Webster. In 1936, he was named
King's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...
.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, Davis spoke out in favour of better treatment of "
enemy alien
In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...
s", persons residing in Canada who held citizenship in countries at war with Canada:
If we treat such men as men and brothers, we will make Canadians of them; if we treat them in any other fashion, we will make of them an alien element in Canada.
"Enemy aliens" were interred in labour camps across the country during the war under the authority of the
War Measures Act
The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that co ...
of 1914. The same legislation would later be invoked during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and the
October Crisis
The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...
of 1970. He died in Neepawa in 1951.
References
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba
Unionist Party (Canada) MPs
1868 births
1951 deaths
People from Neepawa, Manitoba
Canadian King's Counsel
{{Manitoba-politician-stub