Occupation Politician Name Lawrence Clarke | Role Magistrate | |
Born June 26, 1832 ( 1832-06-26 ) Died October 5, 1890, Prince Albert, Canada | ||
Lawrence Clarke (June 26, 1832 – October 5, 1890, Prince Albert, Northwest Territories) was the Chief Factor of the District of Saskatchewan for the Hudson's Bay Company. He resided at Fort Carlton in Canada. He later became a magistrate. Clarke moved to what is today Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in the early 1880s and was a prominent local citizen with connections in the Conservative Party of Canada.
He is regarded by some as worsening the living conditions for the Métis.. He questioned Gabriel Dumont for fining a group of Métis who had begun to hunt bison before the official hunt of the St. Laurent community in the spring of 1875, but after investigating the Crown carried no action against Dumont or the St. Laurent group. However, after this interaction the concern the government had over the St. Laurent settlement being seen as a 'provisional' government as with Riel in 1869-70, saw the St Laurent group become less organized in their political structure to prevent tensions with the crown. Some figures in the Métis community, notably James Isbister, also blamed him for inciting the Métis to violence in 1885 by spreading false rumours of an impending government attack. Thomas McKay, first mayor of Prince Albert was Clarke's brother-in-law.
He was the first elected Member of the Legislative Assembly in Northwest Territories' history.