Editing Wilfrid Laurier (section)

=== Childhood ===
The second child of Carolus Laurier and Marcelle Martineau, Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier was born in Saint-Lin, [[Canada East]] (modern-day [[Saint-Lin-Laurentides]], Quebec), on November 20, 1841. He was a sixth-generation [[French Canadian]]. His ancestor François Cottineau, ''dit'' Champlaurier, came to Canada from [[Saint-Claud]], France. Laurier grew up in a family where politics was a staple of talk and debate. His father, an educated man having liberal ideas, enjoyed a certain degree of prestige about town. In addition to being a farmer and [[surveying|surveyor]], he also occupied such sought-after positions as mayor, [[justice of the peace]], militia lieutenant and [[school board]] member. At the age of 11, Wilfrid left home to study in [[New Glasgow, Quebec|New Glasgow]], a neighbouring village largely inhabited by immigrants from [[Scotland]]. Over the next two years, he familiarized himself with the mentality, language and culture of [[English Canada]], in addition to learning English. In 1854, Laurier attended the Collège de L'Assomption, an institution that staunchly followed [[Roman Catholicism]]. There, he started to develop an interest in politics, and began to endorse the ideology of [[Liberalism in Canada|liberalism]], despite the school being heavily [[Conservatism in Canada|conservative]].<ref name="WLbio">{{cite web |last1=Bélanger |first1=Réal |title=Wilfrid Laurier |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/laurier_wilfrid_14E.html |website=Dictionary of Canadian Biography |access-date=January 1, 2022}}</ref>