Editing Wilfrid Laurier (section)

==Legacy==

Overall, Laurier's efforts to remain neutral between English Canadians and French Canadians, and his efforts to seek a middle ground between the two ethnic groups have paved the way for him to be [[historical rankings of prime ministers of Canada|ranked]] among the top three of Canadian prime ministers. Despite being a French Canadian, he did not fully accept the French Canadian demands of repealing Manitoba's ban on public funding for Catholic schools nor did he fully accept their demands of refusing to send any Canadian troop to fight in the Boer War. Nonetheless, in all seven elections he fought, the majority of Quebec's ridings were handed over to his Liberal Party. Despite one notable exception in [[1958 Canadian federal election|1958]], the Liberal Party continued to dominate federal politics in Quebec until [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984]].

Historian [[Jacques Monet]] wrote, "To his faithful followers, especially in Quebec, where his surname is used as a first name by many other Canadians, Laurier is a charismatic hero whose term of office was a happy time in Canadian history. He worked all his life for cooperation between French- and English-speaking Canadians while he strove to keep Canada as independent as possible from Britain. His personal charm and dignity, his great skill as an orator, and his great gifts of intellect won the admiration of all Canadians and non-Canadians alike."<ref name="WLBritannica" />

According to historians [[Norman Hillmer]] and Stephen Azzi, a 2011 poll of 117 historians and experts voted Laurier as the "best" Canadian prime minister, ahead of [[John A. Macdonald]] and [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|Mackenzie King]]. Laurier was ranked Number 3 of the Prime Ministers of Canada (out of the 20 through [[Jean Chrétien]]) in the survey by Canadian historians included in ''Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders'' by [[J.L. Granatstein]] and Norman Hillmer.<ref name="ReferenceA">Norman Hillmerand Stephen Azzi, "Canada's Best Prime Ministers" ''Maclean's,'' June 20, 2011 Vol. 124, Issue 23.</ref> "Passionate, charismatic, and an intellectual force in both languages," the [[Canadian War Museum]]'s [[Tim Cook (historian)|Tim Cook]] stated, "Sir Wilfrid was the full package."<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hillmer |first1=Norman |last2=Azzi |first2=Stephen |title=Canada's best prime ministers |url=https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/canadas-best-prime-ministers/ |website=Maclean's |access-date=January 2, 2022 |date=June 10, 2011}}</ref>

More recently, Laurier has been criticised for his policies towards [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous Canadians]], Chinese, and Indian immigrants.<ref name=":0" /> Laurier's government had promoted immigration for economic growth, but also took measures to prevent Chinese and Indian immigrants from arriving. Additionally, Laurier also encouraged settlements, which affected local populations.