Editing Robert Borden (section)

==Leader of the Official Opposition (1901–1911)==

Tupper announced his resignation as party leader after he led the Conservatives to their [[1900 Canadian federal election|second consecutive defeat at the polls in 1900]]. Tupper, and his son [[Charles Hibbert Tupper]] (who was Borden's former colleague at the Halifax law firm) asked Borden to become leader, citing his work in Parliament and lack of enemies within the Conservative caucus. Borden at first was not keen to become leader, stating, "I have not either the experience or the qualifications which would enable me to successfully lead the party...It would be an absurdity for the party and madness for me." However, he later changed his position and on February 6, 1901, he was selected by the Conservative caucus as party leader.<ref name="Bordenbio" />
[[File:Sir Robert Borden.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Borden, 1901]]
The Liberal prime minister, Wilfrid Laurier, proposed the building of the [[Canadian Northern Railway|Canadian Northern]] and [[Grand Trunk Pacific Railway|Grand Trunk]] railways. Borden proposed for the railways to be government-owned and government-operated, stating the people would have a choice between "a government-owned railway or a railway-owned government." This position did not resonate with voters in the [[1904 Canadian federal election|1904 federal election]]; the Liberals won a slightly stronger [[majority government|majority]], while the Conservatives lost a few seats. Borden himself was defeated in his Halifax seat but re-entered the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] the next year via a by-election in [[Carleton (Ontario federal electoral district)|Carleton (Ontario)]]. In 1907, Borden announced the Halifax Platform. The Conservative Party's new policy called for reform of the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] and the civil service, a more selective immigration policy, free rural mail delivery, government regulation of telegraphs, telephones, and railways and eventually national ownership of telegraphs and telephones. In the [[1908 Canadian federal election|1908 federal election]], Laurier's Liberals won for the fourth consecutive time. However, the Liberals experienced a drop in support as they won a slightly reduced majority. The Conservatives experienced a modest boost, gaining 10 seats.<ref name="Bordenbio" />

In 1910 and 1911, Laurier proposed a [[Reciprocity (Canadian politics)|reciprocity]] agreement with the United States. Borden opposed the treaty, stating that it would weaken ties with Britain, lead to Canadian identity being influenced by the US, and lead to American annexation of Canada. In the [[1911 Canadian federal election|1911 federal election]], the Conservatives countered with a revised version of John A. Macdonald's [[National Policy]], campaigned on fears of American influence on Canada and disloyalty to Britain, and ran on the slogan "Canadianism or Continentalism". The Conservatives triumphed; they won a strong majority, ending over 15 years of Liberal rule.<ref name="Bordenbio" /><ref>{{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=31 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|title=Wilfrid Laurier|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-wilfrid-laurier|access-date=31 January 2022}}</ref>