Robert Rogers, (2 March 1864 – 21 July 1936) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

merchant and politician. He served as a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

at the federal and provincial levels. Rogers was born in Lakefield

Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...

(now

Gore, Quebec Gore is a township municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provin ...

), the son of Lieutenant-Colonel George Rogers. He was educated in

Lachute Lachute () is a town in southwest Quebec, Canada, northwest of Montreal, on the Rivière du Nord (Laurentides), Rivière du Nord, a tributary of the Ottawa River, and west of Mirabel International Airport, the Mirabel International Airport. It i ...

, Berthier and

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, and later moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba to become director of the Monarch Life Assurance Company. In religion, he was a member of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Manitoba politics

He contested Lisgar in the 1896 federal election as a candidate of the federal Conservative Party, and lost to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Robert Lorne Richardson Robert Lorne Richardson (June 28, 1860 – November 6, 1921) was a Canadian journalist, editor, newspaper owner, author, and politician. Born in Balderson, Lanark County, Canada West, the son of Joseph Richardson and Harriet Thompson, Richa ...

by fifty-four votes. He was 32 years old. Rogers was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

in the 1899 provincial election as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate, defeating Liberal candidate

J.L. Brown JL or Jl may refer to: Companies, groups, organizations * Japan Airlines (IATA airline designator JL) * JL Audio, a manufacturer of consumer audio products * Jefferson Lines, an intercity bus company in the Midwestern United States * Jonos, Ltd ...

by twenty-eight votes in

Manitou Manitou () is the fundamental life force in the theologies of Algonquian peoples. It is said to be omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. ''Aashaa monetoo'' means "good spirit", while ''otshee monetoo ...

. The Conservatives won this election, and Rogers sat in the legislature as a backbench supporter of

Hugh John Macdonald Sir Hugh John Macdonald, (March 13, 1850 – March 29, 1929) was the only surviving son of the first prime minister of Canada, John A. Macdonald. He too was a politician, serving as a member of the House of Commons of Canada and a federal cabi ...

's administration. When

Rodmond Roblin Sir Rodmond Palen Roblin (February 15, 1853 – February 16, 1937) was a businessman and politician in Manitoba, Canada. Early life and career Roblin was born in Sophiasburgh, in Prince Edward County, Canada West (later Ontario). The Robl ...

succeeded Macdonald as

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 ...

on 29 October 1900, he appointed Rogers as a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

. On 20 December 1900, Rogers was promoted to the powerful position of

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

. He remained in this position for eleven years, and was often regarded as the second most powerful figure in Roblin's cabinet, helping the premier construct an effective patronage network. He was re-elected without difficulty in the campaigns of

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

and

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

Federal politics

Rogers turned to federal politics in 1911. The federal Conservative Party under

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known ...

defeated

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 ...

's governing Liberals in the 1911 federal election, due in part to assistance from Roblin's electoral machine in Manitoba. Although Rogers was not a candidate in the election, he was appointed as Canada's

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs on 10 October 1911. Seventeen days later, he was acclaimed to the House of Commons in a

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 ...

for

. Rogers was given additional responsibilities as Minister of Mines on 30 March 1912. On 29 October 1912, he left his other portfolios to become Canada's

, a position which he held for five years. He did not seek re-election in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

. He attempted to return to the House of Commons for Lisgar in the 1921 election, but lost to Progressive candidate John Livingstone Brown by 1,164 votes. Rogers was returned to parliament in the 1925 election, defeating former Liberal premier

Tobias Norris Tobias Crawford Norris (September 5, 1861 – October 29, 1936) was a Canadian politician who served as the tenth premier of Manitoba from 1915 to 1922. Norris was a member of the Liberal Party.J. M. Bumsted"Tobias Crawford Norris" ''The Ca ...

by 1,617 votes in

Winnipeg South Winnipeg South () is a electoral district (Canada), Canadian federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1979, and since 1988. It covers the southernmost part of the ...

. In the following year's election, he lost his seat to Liberal

John Stewart McDiarmid John Stewart McDiarmid (December 25, 1882 – June 7, 1965) was a Manitoba politician. He held senior ministerial positions in the governments of John Bracken, Stuart Garson and Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Douglas Campbell, and served as the p ...

by 1,171 votes. He was a candidate at the Conservative Party leadership convention in 1927. He finished fifth out of six candidates. His vote mostly vanished in the second vote – the leader was elected through run-off voting. His lack of French ended his drive for the leadership.Arthur R. Ford, ''As the World Wags On'' (Toronto 1950), pg. 29. Rogers won election to the House of Commons for a third time in the 1930 election, defeating McDiarmid by 343 votes. He was not included in the cabinet of Conservative

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Richard Bennett, and retired from politics in 1935. He died the following year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Robert 1864 births 1936 deaths Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs People from Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada