Hiram Blanchard (January 17, 1820 – December 17, 1874) was a

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

lawyer, politician, and the first premier of Nova Scotia. Blanchard won election to the Nova Scotia legislative assembly in

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

in 1859 as a Liberal.

Early life

Hiram Blanchard was born in West River, Nova Scotia, on January 17, 1820, to father Jonathan Blanchard and mother Sarah Goggins. Hiram attended the same school as his brother, Jotham Blanchard, Pictou Academy. After graduating, Blanchard began studying law at Guysborough, Nova Scotia, with future

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

member William Frederick DesBarres and was admitted to the bar as an attorney at age 21 in November 1841. Marrying Eliza Cantrell in 1842, he was admitted to the bar as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

in April 1843. Shortly after his admission to the bar, Blanchard opened up a law office in the small seaside village of Port Hood, Nova Scotia, practising in the law courts of Antigonish and Guysborough. In a short time, Blanchard gained a reputation amongst those in the legal profession for his skill in examining witnesses and clear presentation of facts. In 1860, Blanchard moved to Halifax and became engaged in a partnership with

Jonathan McCully Jonathan McCully (July 25, 1809 – January 2, 1877) was a participant at the Confederation conferences at Charlottetown, Quebec City, and in London, and is thus considered one of the Canadian Confederation, Fathers of Canadian Confederation ...

, then

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

and railway commissioner in the government of Joseph Howe. There, he argued against characters such as James MacDonald, the future federal Minister of Justice and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. Charles James Townshend, a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, observed the courtroom encounters of McCully and Blanchard, commenting "... it was delightful and instructive to listen to

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

forensic battle. Both were men of high and honourable character, incapable of any unworthy schemes to win their cases." In 1870, Blanchard became partners with Nicholas Meagher, future Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.

Political career

In 1860, William Young left politics to become chief justice of

. Blanchard had been very reluctant to become involved in politics until up to just before this time. The 1859 Nova Scotia election was largely influenced between the ongoing squabbles between

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

populations, but Hiram Blanchard's election win for the Liberals in his constituency of

was based on a platform of "equal rights to all, proscription of none, favouritism to none". Blanchard rose above religious quarrels and managed to win in a

community, even though he was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

himself. In the

, Blanchard drew particular attention to the plight of the insane and the

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

, two disadvantaged groups in Nova Scotia at the time. Although he supported the free schooling initiative of Premier

Charles Tupper Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led ...

, Blanchard objected to the idea that schools should be governed by a council made up of members of the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the cabinet is s ...

. Blanchard supported the idea of confederation, and after

became a part of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1867, he became

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and leader of the Conservative Party government, as the position of leader of the government had been vacated by

following his run for federal politics. However, Blanchard was in his new-found position for less than three months. In the September 1867 provincial election, the issue of Nova Scotia's entry to the confederation led to the government's demise in favour of William Annand's Anti-Confederation Party, and in the newly elected Assembly, only two members, Blanchard included, supported the idea of confederation. In 1868, Blanchard's re-election to his constituency of Inverness was declared invalid as he had recently been appointed the legal advisor for the federal government in his province. In the subsequent

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, Blanchard was defeated. In the 1871 election, he was once again elected, serving as leader of the opposition until his death on December 17, 1874, at Halifax. Blanchard was survived by his four daughters and wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Hiram 1820 births 1874 deaths Canadian Presbyterians Premiers of Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs Lawyers in Nova Scotia People from Pictou County People of New England Planter descent Nova Scotia political party leaders 19th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly