Henri Bourassa
Canadian politician
Died when: 83 years 365 days (1007 months)Star Sign: Virgo
Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa (French pronunciation: ?[?~?i bu?asa];September 1, 1868 – August 31, 1952) was a French Canadian political leader and publisher.In 1899, Bourassa was outspoken against the British government's request for Canada to send a militia to fight for Britain in the Second Boer War.
Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier's compromise was to send a volunteer force, but the seeds were sown for future conscription protests during the World Wars of the next half-century.
Bourassa unsuccessfully challenged the proposal to build warships to help protect the empire.He led the opposition to conscription during World War I and argued that Canada's interests were not at stake.
He opposed Catholic bishops who defended military support of Britain and its allies.Bourassa was an ideological father of French-Canadian nationalism.
Bourassa was also a defining force in forging French Canada's attitude to the Canadian Confederation of 1867.
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