Adams George Archibald

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Sir Adams George Archibald (May 3, 1814 – December 14, 1892) was a Canadian lawyer and politician and a Father of Confederation. Born in Truro, Nova Scotia, he trained as a lawyer and became a probate judge in 1848. He entered Nova Scotia politics in 1851 with Joseph Howe’s Reformers, serving in several roles including Solicitor General (1856) and Attorney General (1860). Archibald supported Confederation and, in 1867, was the only Liberal in Nova Scotia to back the province’s entry into Canada; he briefly served as Secretary of State for the Provinces in John A. Macdonald’s government before losing his seat in Colchester in the 1867 election.

He won a by-election in 1869 and returned to Parliament as a Liberal-Conservative. In 1870 he became the first Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba and, at the same time, of the Northwest Territories, a post he held until 1872. He helped organize the new provincial government in Manitoba and pursued a policy of conciliation with the Métis, meeting Louis Riel; he resigned in late 1871.

Back in Nova Scotia, Archibald was appointed to the Nova Scotia bench in 1873 but soon became the 4th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, serving until 1883. He helped found the Nova Scotia Historical Society and became its president in 1886. He returned to Parliament in 1888 as the MP for Colchester and served until 1891. He died in Truro in 1892 at age 78.

He married Elizabeth A. Burnyeat in 1843, and they had three daughters and one son (who died at age 14).