Frederick Carter

Who was Frederick Carter?

Sir Frederick Terrington Carter, KCMG was a lawyer and Premier of Newfoundland from 1865 to 1870. He was son of Peter Weston Carter and great-grandson of Robert Carter, who was then appointed justice of the peace at Ferryland in 1750. In 1855, he was elected to the House of Assembly as a Conservative and was Speaker from 1861 until 1865. In 1865 he succeeded Sir Hugh Hoyles as Premier.

Carter was a supporter of Canadian confederation having been a delegate to the 1864 Quebec conference. However, the Conservatives were defeated on the Confederation issue in the November 1869 election by the Anti-Confederation Party led by Charles Fox Bennett. Even though Newfoundland did not join confederation until many years later, Carter is considered one of the Fathers of Confederation. Carter became Premier a second time in 1874 but had dropped the issue of joining Canada. In 1878 Carter was appointed Chief Justice succeeding Sir Hugh Hoyles.