Boundless Optimism

Patricia E. Roy is the winner of the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award, Canadian Historical Association.

The first decade and a half of the twentieth century was mostly a time of unprecedented prosperity and growth in British Columbia. Although its colonial history was still etched in the public psyche, BC was coming into its own as a province of Canada and starting to realize the untapped economic potential of its natural resources.

Richard McBride served four terms as BC’s premier, from 1903 to 1915, building a reputation as a charismatic and optimistic leader whose vision of a modern, industrialized, and wealthy province helped shape BC’s institutions and its place in the British world. McBride stabilized the legislature by introducing party lines, promoted provincial causes in Ottawa, and above all encouraged new railways. His fight for “Better Terms” and his association with leading federal Conservatives made him a national figure, while his support of the Imperial navy and British investment brought him attention in London and a knighthood. Boundless Optimism chronicles the brilliant career of this often-overlooked leader and the province he helped create.