Joseph Howe (1804-1873) was a Canadian journalist, reformer, and politician who led the fight for "responsible government" in Nova Scotia, opposed confederation with Canada, and eventually came to terms with the federal union of British North America.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Dec. 13, 1804, Joseph Howe was of a loyalist family connected with printing. Howe himself went into journalism at an early age, becoming the editor of the Novascotian in 1828. His extensive knowledge of his native province gained from continuous traveling, his engaging personality, his argumentative powers, and his clear and lively prose made him a political commentator of great force.

Howe soon took up the reform cause against the group of merchants and officials who dominated the governing circle of the colony. A celebrated libel trial, in which he conducted his own defense and won acquittal, led him to intervene directly in politics. In 1836 he was elected...