Editing Charles Tupper (section)

==Leader of the Opposition, 1896–1900==
[[Image:TupperCrownLife.jpg|thumb|right|Tupper at a meeting of the directors of the [[Crown Life Insurance Company]] in Toronto, ca 1900]]

As Leader of the Opposition during the [[8th Canadian Parliament]], Tupper attempted to regain the loyalty of those Conservatives who had deserted the party over the [[Manitoba Schools Question]].<ref name="ODNB"/> He played up loyalty to the British Empire.<ref name="ODNB"/> Tupper strongly supported Canadian participation in the [[Second Boer War]], which broke out in 1899, and criticized Laurier for not doing enough to support Britain in the war.<ref name="ODNB"/>

The [[1900 Canadian federal election|1900 election]] saw the Conservatives pick up 17 Ontario seats in the [[9th Canadian Parliament]].<ref name="ODNB"/> This was a small consolation, however, Laurier's Liberals won a definitive majority and had a clear mandate for a second term.<ref name="ODNB"/> Worse for Tupper was the fact he had failed to carry his own seat, losing the Cape Breton seat to Liberal [[Alexander Johnston (Canadian politician)|Alexander Johnston]].<ref name="ODNB"/> In November 1900, two weeks after the election, Tupper stepped down as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Leader of the Opposition – the caucus chose as his successor fellow Nova Scotian [[Robert Laird Borden]].<ref name="ODNB"/>