Arthur Meighen (1874-1960) was a Canadian lawyer and prime minister. He was one of the most respected Conservative leaders of government despite his espousal of several unpopular laws.

Arthur Meighen was born on June 16, 1874, near St. Mary's, Ontario, to parents of Ulster stock. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1896, and after a brief period as a high school teacher he went west to Winnipeg. He was called to the Manitoba bar in 1902 and took up the practice of law in the growing town of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, where his ability and unrelenting hard work soon made him a leading citizen. In 1904 he married Isabel Cox, a schoolteacher recently arrived from Quebec.

Meighen was elected to Parliament as Conservative member for Portage la Prairie in 1908 and reelected in 1911, when the new Conservative ministry of Robert Borden was formed. In 1913 Meighen became solicitor general of Canada and...