Boundless Optimism

Richard McBride's British Columbia

By Patricia E. Roy
Categories: Regional & Cultural Studies, Canadian Studies, Political Science, Canadian Political Science, Literature & Language Studies, Auto/biography & Memoir, History, Canadian History
Publisher: UBC Press
Hardcover : 9780774823883, 428 pages, November 2012
Paperback : 9780774823890, 428 pages, July 2013
Ebook (PDF) : 9780774823906, 428 pages, November 2012

Table of contents

Introduction

1 A Young British Columbian in a Young British Columbia

2 “Dewdney Dick”: In a Chaotic Legislature, 1898-1903

3 Establishing a Government, 1903-07

4 Toward a Wider Stage, 1907-09

5 Boundless Optimism, 1909-12

6 The Beginning of the End, 1912-14

7 Optimism Challenged, 1914-15

8 Respite in London

Conclusion

Epilogue

Notes

Note on Sources

Index

Boundless Optimism captures the spirit of both British Columbia and the man who led the province into a new era of growth and development.

Description

Devout imperialist, loyal Canadian, and dedicated British Columbian, Richard McBride served as British Columbia's premier from 1903 to 1915. During this period of great economic growth, McBride brought order to the legislature, encouraged the development of natural resources by facilitating new railways, championed the province in its quarrels with Ottawa, and promoted Canada’s links with the British Empire. His vision of a modern, industrialized, and wealthy province helped shape its institutions and its place in the British world. Boundless Optimism brings McBride’s political career into focus, chronicling his many accomplishments and putting his activities into historical context without neglecting the downsides of optimism.