Charles Tupper

Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Tupper
6th Prime Minister of Canada
In office May 1, 1896 – July 8, 1896
Preceded by	Mackenzie Bowell
Succeeded by	Wilfrid Laurier
Personal details
Born	July 2, 1821 Amherst, Nova Scotia
Died	October 30, 1915 Bexleyheath, England
Political party	Conservative

Not to be confused with Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper who was Sir Charles Tupper's son

Sir Charles Napier Tupper, GCMG, CB, PC, DCL, LL.D, MD (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a father of Confederation, the sixth Prime Minister of Canada and, as of 2025, the one with the shortest term of office (69 days).

Tupper was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia to Charles Tupper (Sr.) and Miriam Lowe Lockhart. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and became a doctor upon his graduation in 1843. In 1846, he married Frances Morse (1826-1912), with whom he had three sons (Orin Stewart, Charles Hibbert, and William Johnston) and three daughters (Emma, Elizabeth Stewart (Lilly), and Sophy Almon).

He entered Nova Scotia politics in 1855 and became premier in 1864 as leader of the Confederation Party. As a delegate to the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London conferences, Tupper guided his province into Confederation.

Sir Charles Tupper's public career was long and successful. He was Canada's High Commissioner in Great Britain from 1884 to 1887, and later served as one of Sir John A. Macdonald's key lieutenants. In 1895, he returned from service as Canada's representative in Britain to take over the leadership of the Conservative party, replacing Mackenzie Bowell. The Conservative Party was "dissatisfied" in Bowell's leadership because of the controversial Manitoba Schools Question. Despite these successes, Tupper was Prime Minister of Canada for just 69 days in 1896, the shortest term ever for a Canadian Prime Minister. He was also the oldest, at the age of 74, to assume the office.

Tupper led the Conservatives into the 1896 election; however, the question of the educational rights of French-speaking Manitobans turned voters towards the Liberals under Wilfrid Laurier. Despite garnering 46.5% of the votes, in comparison to 45% for the Liberals, Tupper's Conservatives were defeated. He retired from the federal scene in 1901, after thirty years in national politics.

Sir Charles Tupper died in Bexleyheath, Kent, England at the age of 94, and was brought home to be buried in St. John's Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Tupper was also a notorious womanizer, his nickname 'The Ram of Cumberland' being believed to have a dual meaning. He allegedly seduced an older woman to pay for his doctorate, and was sued by his secretary while in his 70's. Rumours swirled about his paternity of a child and his advising the woman to have an abortion, although the case was eventually settled. There is evidence that during his retirement he had returned to monogamy.

Tupper has decendants scattered across Canada and indeed the World. In British Columbia - Julie Elizabeth-Merritt Cullen and her son Jamieson William-Merritt-Cullen Hermes can be found. There is another named Charles Tupper near that region.

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Political biography from the Library of Parliament

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