Editing Charles Tupper (section)

===Interlude as Minister of Finance, 1887–1888===
1884 saw the election of Liberal [[William Stevens Fielding]] as Premier of Nova Scotia after Fielding campaigned on a platform of leading Nova Scotia out of Confederation.<ref name="ODNB"/> As such, throughout 1886, Macdonald begged Tupper to return to Canada to fight the Anti-Confederates.<ref name="ODNB"/> In January 1887 Tupper returned to Canada to rejoin the 3rd Canadian Ministry as [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Minister of Finance of Canada]], while retaining his post as High Commissioner.<ref name="ODNB"/>

During the [[1887 Canadian federal election|1887 federal election]], Tupper again presented the pro-Confederation argument to the people of Nova Scotia, and again the Conservatives won 14 of Nova Scotia's 21 seats in the [[6th Canadian Parliament]].<ref name="ODNB"/>

During his year as finance minister, Tupper retained the government's commitment to protectionism, even extending it to the [[iron and steel industry]].<ref name="ODNB"/> By this time Tupper was convinced that Canada was ready to move on to its second stage of [[Industrialisation|industrial development]].<ref name="ODNB"/> In part, he held out the prospect of the development of a great iron industry as an inducement to keep Nova Scotia from seceding.<ref name="ODNB"/>

Tupper's unique position of being both Minister of Finance and High Commissioner to London served him well in an emerging crisis in [[American-Canadian relations]]: in 1885, the U.S. abrogated the fisheries clause of the Treaty of Washington (1871), and the Canadian government retaliated against American fishermen with a narrow reading of the [[Treaty of 1818]].<ref name="ODNB"/> Acting as High Commissioner, Tupper pressured the British government (then led by [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]]) to stand firm in defending Canada's rights.<ref name="ODNB"/> The result was the appointment of a Joint Commission in 1887, with Tupper serving as one of the three British commissioners to negotiate with the Americans.<ref name="ODNB"/> Salisbury selected [[Joseph Chamberlain]] as one of the British commissioners.<ref name="ODNB"/> [[John Sparrow David Thompson|John Thompson]] served as the British delegation's legal counsel.<ref name="ODNB"/> During the negotiations, [[U.S. Secretary of State]] [[Thomas F. Bayard]] complained that "Mr. Chamberlain has yielded the control of the negotiations over to Charles Tupper, who subjects the questions to the demands of Canadian politics."<ref name="ODNB"/> The result of the negotiations was a treaty (the Treaty of Washington of 1888) that made such concessions to Canada that it was ultimately rejected by the [[American Senate]] in February 1888.<ref name="ODNB"/> However, although the treaty was rejected, the commission had managed to temporarily resolve the dispute.

Following the long conclusion of these negotiations, Tupper decided to return to London to become High-Commissioner full-time.<ref name="ODNB"/> Macdonald tried to persuade Tupper to stay in Ottawa: during the political crisis surrounding the 1885 [[North-West Rebellion]], Macdonald had pledged to nominate Hector-Louis Langevin as his successor; Macdonald now told Tupper that he would break this promise and nominate Tupper as his successor.<ref name="ODNB"/> Tupper was not convinced, however, and resigned as Minister of Finance on May 23, 1888, and moved back to London.<ref name="ODNB"/>