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Sir Clifford Sifton, 1861 - 1929
Minister of the Interior and champion of Canada's natural resources

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Sir Clifford Sifton was a dynamic politician and a lifelong advocate for western Canada. As Minister of the Interior from 1896 to 1905, he was responsible for the natural resources, economic development and settlement of the huge tract of land extending north and west of Hudson Bay.

This vast area was crucial to Canadian prosperity and unity. Developing the West would allow Canadians to pursue their dream of creating a nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Born in 1861 on a farm north of London, Ontario, Clifford moved with his family to Manitoba when he was 14. After opening a law practice in Brandon in 1882 with his brother, he later moved on to provincial, then federal, politics. All his life, Clifford's interests would centre on the Canadian West.

A federal minister at the age of 35, the "six-foot dynamo" was determined to fill the empty Prairies with farmers as soon as possible. In a 1910 speech to the Empire Club, Clifford claimed that agriculture was "the most valuable resource we have, because it raises a virile population which is the backbone of a nation."

He ruthlessly pruned the red tape in the Dominion Lands Act of 1872 so that immigrants could secure their promised homesteads more quickly. He also abolished the land grants system that allowed the railways to hold large blocks of agricultural land.

But above all, he used his sales skills to attract farmers from Eastern and Central Europe, such as the Ukrainians, who he felt would excel as farmers. His department issued a torrent of pamphlets, wined and dined foreign journalists, and established immigration offices in the U.S. and Europe.

Partly as a result of these efforts, immigration to Canada doubled between 1896 and 1898.

As Minister of the Interior and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs, Clifford's first major task was to oversee the Klondike Gold Rush, which brought an influx of 30,000 people to the remote Yukon territory. Clifford introduced a Canadian government presence to the lawless region. He implemented a tax of 10 percent on all gold discovered, which was used to develop government services in the Yukon.

He also worked to create more efficient methods of gold mining by encouraging a shift from individual placer-mining in streams to large-scale mechanized operations.

At the turn of the 20^th century, Canada was a young country with an apparently unlimited supply of natural resources. There were few logging regulations, and clear cutting was rampant, with no thought of replanting. Clifford realized the economic necessity of conservation and reforestation, and created a Forestry Branch of the Department of the Interior to conserve federal forests.

After his resignation from politics, Clifford was appointed the Chairman of the Commission for the Conservation of Natural Resources. During his tenure, he commissioned detailed studies of all Canadian natural resources. Two of the projects he defeated were a dam across the St. Lawrence to provide water power and a canal connecting Lake Superior and Edmonton.

Clifford's prairie roots showed in his fervent defence of western interests. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in 1888 and was named attorney general of Manitoba in 1891 at the age of 30.

Clifford saw railways as an essential means of transporting not only people, but also grain, meat and lumber from the West to eastern ports and world markets. He supported the development of national railways and negotiated a deal for lower freight rates to western farmers, saving them millions of dollars.

In 1897, the Government of Canada brought in protective tariffs. Clifford made sure that western farmers were fairly treated. He suggested to Laurier that duties be applied to all U.S. agricultural products coming into Canada.

Although Clifford left politics in 1911, he remained a powerful figure in Canadian politics through his ownership of the Manitoba Free Press, one of the most influential newspapers in Canada at the time. Clifford owned the Free Press from 1891 up to his death in 1921.

• 1880 Graduated from Victoria University in Cobourg, Ontario
• 1882 Called to the Bar
• 1888 Elected to Manitoba Legislature
• 1891 Appointed attorney general of Manitoba; purchased Manitoba Free Press
• 1896 Elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Brandon, Manitoba; appointed Minister of the Interior and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs
• 1896 Implemented aggressive immigration policy for western Canada
• 1897 Visited the Yukon to establish Canadian government control in district
• 1903 Presented Canada's case to Alaska Boundary Tribunal
• 1905 Resigned from cabinet
• 1911 Retired from federal politics
• 1915 Knighted by King George V

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