Simon Hugh Holmes (July 30, 1831 – October 14, 1919) 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 ...

politician, publisher and lawyer. He was the fourth

premier of Nova Scotia The premier of Nova Scotia is the first minister to the lieutenant governor of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and presides over the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Following the Westminster system, the premier is normally the leader of t ...

from 1878 to 1882. Holmes was born in Springville, Nova Scotia, in

Pictou County Pictou County is a county in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 43,657 people in 2021, a decline of 0.2 percent from 2016. Further ...

. The son of Nova Scotia politician and Canadian senator John Holmes, Holmes in 1858 founded and edited the Pictou ''Colonial Standard'' as “a dedicated advocate of the principles of true Conservatism.” The paper and Holmes were advocates of

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 ...

. Holmes remained editor until 1878 when he became Premier. Holmes attempted to win a seat in the

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 ...

in 1867 but was defeated in a wave of anti-Confederation sentiment. He won a seat in 1871 and soon became ''de facto'' leader of the

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 ...

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

. The

Tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...

won the 1878 election and Holmes 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 ...

of the province to find the treasury depleted and the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

in the hands of the Liberals. The Tory government passed legislation to create

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

government, lengthened the training period for teachers, subsidized education for blind children and attempted to improve

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun M ...

safety. The Liberal-dominated

Upper House An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

frustrated much of Holmes' program and he attempted three times to abolish the Legislative Council, but failed.D. A. Sutherland, “Holmes, John" (1789-1876),” ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 10, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed April 22, 2025, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/holmes_john_1789_1876_10E.html. Holmes' personal style tended to be authoritarian and this factor, along with the political impasse, led to a

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

revolt that resulted in his resignation in 1882 to accept a lucrative position as crown clerk for Halifax County. He died in Halifax.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Simon 1831 births 1919 deaths Canadian Presbyterians Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs Premiers of Nova Scotia Politicians from Pictou County Colony of Nova Scotia people 19th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Nova Scotia political party leaders 19th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly