Mr. Speaker, 100 years ago in 1896 Wilfrid Laurier became the first francophone to be elected Prime Minister of Canada.
This great Liberal leader served Canadians as their Prime Minister for 15 consecutive years until 1911. Sir Wilfrid Laurier is well known to history as a man who recognized that Canada would succeed as a nation only if our citizens are willing to be tolerant and respectful of each other and our many differences.
His approach was to find compromise solutions to the problems Canadians faced in his times.
This method proved successful for the most part in keeping Canada united. Today in 1996 Canadians must be just as determined to respect our differences, to compromise when necessary and to work tirelessly, as did Laurier, to always keep Canada one great united nation.