Charles Fisher (Canadian politician)
{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{about|the Father of Confederation|the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta|Charles W. Fisher (Canadian politician)}}
{{Other people|Charles Fisher}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Charles Fisher
| image = CharlesFisher23.jpg
| office1 = Premier of the Colony of New Brunswick
| term_start1 = 1 June 1857
| term_end1 = 19 March 1861
| monarch1 = Victoria
| 2blankname1 = {{nowrap|Governor}}
| 2namedata1 = John Manners-Sutton
| predecessor1 = John Hamilton Gray
| successor1 = Samuel Leonard Tilley
| term_start2 = 1 November 1854
| term_end2 = May 1856
| monarch2 = Victoria
| 2blankname2 = {{nowrap|Governor}}
| 2namedata2 = John Manners-Sutton
| predecessor2 = Position established
| successor2 = John Hamilton Gray
| birth_date = 15 August or 16 September 1808
| birth_place = Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1880|12|8|1808|8|15}}
| death_place = Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
| party = Liberal Party
| children = Mary Ann Susanna Fisher
Clara Ariana Alice Fisher
Jane Maria Paulette Fraser
| father = Peter Fisher
}}
Charles Fisher (15 or 16 August September 1808 – 8 December 1880) was a politician and jurist of New Brunswick, Canada. Fisher was a leading Reformer of his day who headed the first responsible government in New Brunswick from 1854 to 1861.
Early life
Charles Fisher was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on either 16 August – 16 September 1808, to parents Peter Fisher and Susanna Williams.{{cite journal |last1=Wallace |first1=C. M. |title=Fisher, Charles |journal=Dictionary of Canadian Biography |date=1972 |volume=10 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/fisher_charles_10E.html |access-date=15 June 2024 |publisher=University of Toronto / Université Laval}}
Career
Fisher was first elected to the colonial assembly in 1837, serving from 1848 to 1850. During this time, Fisher wrote to his friend Joseph Howe about the evil ways of the family compact and on the irresponsible nature of the government and its politics. Fisher would become Leader of the Official Opposition and then Premier and Attorney General in 1854. His government implemented various reforms in education, administration and the electoral system. His government lost power in 1856 when it tried to implement Prohibition which proved unpopular with voters but he returned to power in 1857. His leadership ended in 1861 when he was ousted by fellow reformer Samuel L. Tilley due to a scandal over the leasing of crown lands.
Charles Fisher became a Father of Confederation, participating in the Quebec Conference of 1864 and the London Conference of 1866 that drafted the British North America Act.{{fact|date=November 2024}}
He was elected to the House of Commons in 1867 as a Liberal but resigned his seat in 1868 to accept an appointment to the New Brunswick Supreme Court. One of his notable decisions as a judge of the Court was his lone dissent in Dow v Black, a significant constitutional law case dealing with the federal-provincial division of powers. He would have upheld the constitutionality of a provincial statute dealing with municipal taxation, but the majority of the Court held the statute to be unconstitutional. However, his position was upheld on appeal by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, at that time the court of last resort for the British Empire, which ruled that the statute was within provincial powers. In another case, Ex parte Renaud, he concurred in the Court's decision upholding the constitutionality of the Common Schools Act of 1871. That decision was also upheld by the Judicial Committee, in Maher v Town Council of Portland.
He declined an appointment to be Chief Justice of New Brunswick, remaining a puisne judge until his death at the age of 72. He was buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Fredericton, York County, New Brunswick, Canada.
His daughter, Jane M. Paulette Fisher, married future premier John James Fraser.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{NIE Poster|Fisher, Charles (statesman)|Charles Fisher (Canadian politician)}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081219204029/http://www.gnb.ca/legis/leglibbib/Special_Projects/premiers-bios/english/CFisher.pdf Government of New Brunswick complete profile of Charles Fisher]
- {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=10842}}
{{NBPremiers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Charles}}
Category:Politicians from Fredericton
Category:Fathers of Confederation
Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick
Category:Premiers of New Brunswick
Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Category:Attorneys general of the Colony of New Brunswick
Category:Colony of New Brunswick people
Category:19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada
Category:19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick