Article

Sir John George Bourinot

Published Online December 13, 2007

Last Edited December 15, 2013

Sir John George Bourinot, writer, historian (b at Sydney, NS 24 Oct 1837; d at Ottawa 13 Oct 1902). Bourinot graduated from Toronto's Trinity University in 1857 and then settled in Halifax, where he founded the Herald and became its editor.

Bourinot, Sir John George

Sir John George Bourinot, writer, historian (b at Sydney, NS 24 Oct 1837; d at Ottawa 13 Oct 1902). Bourinot graduated from Toronto's Trinity University in 1857 and then settled in Halifax, where he founded the Herald and became its editor. He joined the HANSARD staff in Ottawa in 1868 and in 1873 was appointed assistant clerk to the House of Commons, becoming chief clerk in 1880.

One of a number of Canadian intellectuals attracted to Ottawa following Confederation, Bourinot avidly sought to define the character of the new country. He became a leading expert on Canadian government and history, writing a number of books, including How Canada is Governed and Parliamentary Procedure and Practice. A founder of the ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA, he was its president in 1892.