The Honourable John Norquay, Premier of Manitoba, August, 1881

Artist: Hall, Sydney Prior (1842-1922)

Medium: pencil on laid paper
Dimensions: 23.6 x 17.8 cm (sheet)

In the summer of 1881, the Marquis of Lorne, governor general of Canada, made a tour of Western Canada, in part to promote settlement of the new province of Manitoba. Several journalists accompanied the vice-regal entourage, including the English artist Sydney Prior Hall engaged by The Graphic, an illustrated weekly newspaper published in London.

At Winnipeg, Lorne was greeted by an official party that included the premier of Manitoba, John Norquay (1841-1889), who was of mixed European and Native ancestry. Norquay was an impressive orator and cut an equally impressive figure - standing over six feet tall and weighing about three hundred pounds. Since Manitoba had joined Confederation in 1870, Norquay had served in the provincial legislature and was premier of Manitoba from 1878 to 1889.

National Archives of Canada, negative no. C-012882