Sir Robert Bond (25 February 1857 – 16 March 1927) was a Newfoundlander politician who was the last
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
of
Newfoundland Colony
Newfoundland was an English, and later British, colony established in 1610 on the island of Newfoundland. That followed decades of sporadic English settlement on the island, which was at first only seasonal. Newfoundland was made a Crown colony ...
from 1900 to 1907 and the first prime minister of the
Dominion of Newfoundland
Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...
dominion
A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
, the son of merchant John Bond. Bond grew up in St. John's until 1872 when his father died and left the family a good deal of money. He went to England where he was educated and came back to Newfoundland and articled under Sir William Whiteway.
Political career
He got involved in politics in 1882 when he ran for the House of Assembly in Trinity Bay. He was speaker of the House of Assembly before the Whiteway government was defeated in 1885. He was elected to the House for
Fortune Bay
Fortune Bay () is a fairly large natural bay located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada.Twillingate in the 1897, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1909, and 1913 elections. When Whiteway came back into power in 1889; Bond was made Colonial Secretary. He tried to negotiate free trade with the United States but it failed because of Canada's objection.
The government was defeated by judicial means in 1894; however, it came back to power shortly as a result of the bank crash of 1894. Bond became leader of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
after Whiteway lost the 1897 election. He became
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
in 1900 after the Conservatives under Sir James Winter lost a vote of confidence. In 1902 he attended the
Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra
The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra of Denmark, Alexandra, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, ...
and the conference of Colonial Premiers in London.
As Premier, he once again tried to negotiate free trade with the United States. It failed because of the objections of US senator
Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850November 9, 1924) was an American politician, historian, lawyer, and statesman from Massachusetts. A member of the History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served in the United States ...
.
Teddy Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York politics, including serving as ...
tried to intervene but was not successful and it ended the friendship between the two nations. Relations between the United States and Newfoundland deteriorated to the point where, in November 1905 in Bonne Bay, local fisherman clashed with Americans trying to buy bait on shore. In 1904, Bond was re-elected with a clear majority. He went on to settle the
French Shore
The French Shore (French language, French: ''Côte française de Terre-Neuve''), also called The Treaty Shore, resulted from the 1713 ratifications of the Treaty of Utrecht. The provisions of the treaty allowed the French to fish in season along t ...
issue which gave Newfoundland full control over the island. Following the 1907 Imperial Conference, Newfoundland and the other self-governing British colonies were given
dominion
A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
status and Bond formally became the first prime minister of the
Dominion of Newfoundland
Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...
.
In 1907, his Attorney General Sir Edward Patrick Morris walked across the floor and started his own party called the Peoples Party. In the 1908 election the two parties came to a tie getting 18 seats each out of the 36 seats. Bond was asked by Governor William MacGregor if he could form a government and said that he could not because he would have to elect a government member as Speaker. Morris was asked and said he could and was sworn in as Prime Minister. His government failed as soon as Parliament was convened.
In the 1909 election, Morris won because he controlled government funds. Bond again led the Liberals into election in 1913 in an alliance with the Unionist Party of William Coaker. They failed to defeat Morris and Bond resigned as Liberal Leader in January 1914. In 1919 and again in 1923, the Liberals tried to persuade him to return. Bond responded with the prophetic response "If only I had the strength, how the fitters would fly; My poor country Newfoundland, the last stage". Bond died on his country estate in Whitbourne at the age of 70.
Honours
Bond received several honours during his premiership. On 24 October 1901, Bond was invested as a Knight Commander of the
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...
(KCMG) during the visit to St John's of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
George was born during the reign of his pa ...
and Queen Mary). During his 1902 visit to London he was sworn a member of the Imperial Privy Council on 11 August 1902, following an announcement of the King's intention to make this appointment in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published in June that year. He was given the freedom of the city of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
during a visit to the city on 26 July 1902, and of the City of London, Manchester, and Bristol in 1907. When he visited Edinburgh in July 1902 ha was also awarded an honorary LL.D. by the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...