Clifford Sifton was at the centre of political controversies
throughout his career. A study of his life and times focuses inevitably
on major issues in Canadian history. Clifford Sifton: The Young
Napoleon - the first of a two-volume biography - examines
Sifton's early career including his years in the Manitoba
legislature up to the mid-point of his service in the federal
cabinet.
After Sifton's first election in the 1880's, his political
rise was dramatic. As Manitoba's attorney general from 1891 to
1896, he fought to establish Manitoba's national schools system -
one of the major issues of his career. Like many westerners, Sifton
believed the social structure of central Canada should not be imposed
on the West and recommended rejection of the bilingual "cultural
compact" of Confederation.
Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier made Sifton Minister of the Interior
in 1896, and his voice became one of the strongest in the cabinet. In
addition to his aggressive efforts to settle the Prairies, he helped to
shape tariff policy, administered the Yukon during the problematic gold
rush days, and became involved in policies related to the Indians, the
International Joint Commission and Imperial connections.
In the late 1890's he secretly purchased the influential
Manitoba Free Press and used it to circulate politically biased stories
to other western Liberal newspapers. This move damaged his reputation
with many of his colleagues and with members of the public. Often under
attack, Sifton was a born fighter who both generated and revelled in
controversy - a proclivity which earned him the nickname of "the
Young Napoleon."