Robert Beaven (January 20, 1836 – September 18, 1920), son of James Beaven, was a

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politician and businessman. Beaven moved to British Columbia from

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, where he had been educated at Upper Canada College, because of the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

. He entered business in Victoria, which was then the capital of the Colony of Vancouver Island. After the colony's union with British Columbia, Beaven became involved with politics as secretary of Amor De Cosmos' Confederation League which advocated that the colony enter

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

. Beaven was elected to the provincial

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in 1871, the year of union with

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, and served in the cabinets of De Cosmos and his successor George Anthony Walkem as chief commissioner of land and works. He was accused by the opposition of corruption and was criticised for not opening up land for settlement quickly enough as well as running up the deficit. Beaven was in opposition during the government of Andrew Charles Elliott but rejoined the government when Walkem became premier for a second time in 1878 and became minister of finance and agriculture. Due to a shortage of revenues he instituted a

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in 1881. In 1882 Beaven became premier of the province but many of his supporters were defeated in the subsequent July election and Beaven ruled with a minority. As Premier he hosted the three-month visit to British Columbia of the

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, the Marquess of Lorne, and his wife Princess Louise, offering to make the princess Queen of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

. She declined. In January 1883 Beaven attempted to introduce a legislative program but his government was brought down by a

Motion of No Confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

and he resigned on January 29, 1883. Beaven remained an MLA and

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

until 1894 when he lost his

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in an election after having served in the legislature for twenty-three years. He also served three terms as

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Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

in the 1890s. Following the 1898 election, no party had a majority and the lieutenant-governor Thomas Robert McInnes passed over the former premier John Herbert Turner and asked Beaven to form a government despite the fact that he had been out of the legislature for four years. Leading members of the legislature refused to support Beaven and he was unable to form a cabinet. Robert Beaven died in 1920 and was interred in the Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaven, Robert 1836 births 1920 deaths Premiers of British Columbia Canadian Anglicans English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Mayors of Victoria, British Columbia Politicians from Toronto Immigrants to Upper Canada Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) people Upper Canada College alumni English emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia 19th-century mayors of places in British Columbia