The eighth prime minister
Sir Robert Borden Stratford-Perth Archives
This street is named in honour of Sir Robert Laird Borden. He was a lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during the First World War and its aftermath.
Borden was elected to the House of Commons in 1896, representing the Conservative Party. He replaced Charles Tupper as party leader in 1901, and became prime minister with the party's federal victory in 1911.
His government passed the War Measures Act, created the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and eventually introduced compulsory military service, which sparked the 1917 conscription crisis.
On the home front, it dealt with the consequences of the Halifax Explosion, introduced women's suffrage for federal elections, used the North-West Mounted Police to end the 1919 Winnipeg general strike ,and established the Canadian National Railways as a Crown corporation.
Borden accepted a knighthood in 1915, the last Canadian prime minister so honoured. He was also the last Canadian prime minister born before Confederation. While still prime minister, he was chancellor of McGill University from 1918 to 1920, the year he retired from politics. From 1924 to 1930, he was chancellor of Queen's University. Between 1923 and 1925 he was vice-president of the Champlain Society and became the was the society's first honorary president. He also served as president of the Canadian Historical Association At the time of his death, June 10, 1937, Borden was president of two financial institutions, Barclays Bank of Canada and the Crown Life Insurance Company. He died in Ottawa and is buried in the Beechwood Cemetery, where his grave is marked by a simple stone cross. Source: Wikipedia