David Laird

Who was David Laird?

David Laird, PC was the first resident Lieutenant Governor of Northwest Territories, Canada. He was the fifth Lieutenant Governor in charge of the territory.

Laird was born in New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island, the son of Alexander Laird, a Scottish immigrant. He was Member of Parliament for Queen's County Prince Edward Island from 1873 to 1876 in the Liberal Party of Canada government of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie. During his term in parliament he served as Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs, and Minister of the Interior. During his tenure as Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs, he championed the Indian Act through the Parliament, a legislation that would enable the government to realize its ultimate goal of paternalistically civilizing the natives of Canada. He earned the name 'He Whose Tongue is Not Forked'.

In 1874, Laird paved the way for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Dominion Telegraph by negotiating the Qu'Appelle Lakes Treaty with local First Nations groups in southern Saskatchewan, to procure land for the railway and telegraph lines.