Sir Robert Laird Borden (1854-1937) was a Canadian political leader and prime minister who guided his country through World War I and, through astute bargaining, achieved equal status for Canada with England within the Commonwealth.

Robert Borden was born at Grand Pré, Nova Scotia, on June 26, 1854, the descendant of prerevolutionary American émigrés. He was educated at the Acacia Villa Seminary in Horton, Nova Scotia, and as a youth he taught at the Glenwood Institute in Matawan, N.J. Returning to his native province in 1874, he began the study of law and was called to the bar in 1878. Borden practiced first in Halifax, then in Kentville, and then again in Halifax, where in 1889 he became head of his own law firm. He seemed headed for a successful career as a lawyer until he became interested in politics.

Party Leader

In 1896 Borden was elected to the...