Sir Robert Borden

A highly respected lawyer from Nova Scotia, Robert Borden took over as federal Conservative leader in 1901, leading his party to victory 10 years later. As Prime Minister, he guided the nation through the First World War, bringing in the War Measures Act, direct federal taxation and conscription. The latter measure bitterly divided the country into pro- and anti-conscription factions, but the conscriptionists, under Borden’s leadership, won out. During his tenure, the first Canadian women were allowed to vote in federal elections. Borden was an Imperial advocate but, confident that Canada had proven itself on the battlefields of Europe, he pressed for, and won, greater Canadian autonomy within the British Empire.