Halifax Public Libraries

Joseph Howe (1804-1873) was at times a prominent journalist, a newspaper owner, a politician, a Premier of Nova Scotia but in 1864, at the time of the Charlottetown Conference, he was the Imperial Fisheries Commissioner. Howe vehemently opposed the idea of Confederation. He feared Nova Scotia would become a second-class partner in the larger union, suffer economically, and lose its unique identity. He made numerous speeches against Confederation for the Anti-Confederation League.

After Confederation, Charles Tupper convinced Howe to join the federal government as a means of negotiating better terms for Nova Scotia. Howe’s acceptance led to a rift with his Liberal Party colleagues, so he joined Sir John A. MacDonald’s Conservatives, and won the Hants County seat in a by-election. Howe was later appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia for only a few weeks before his death in 1873.

Date: [1911?]

Reference: Halifax Public Libraries Postcard Collection Halifax Central Library HPL-PC-0268

For more information, please contact the Local History Room at the Halifax Central Library.