Dalton McCarthy

D'Alton McCarthy, one of the most prominent Conservative MPs and a close ally of John A. Macdonald, broke with the Conservative Party over the Manitoba Schools Question — whether public funding should support Catholic separate schools in Manitoba. McCarthy, a fierce Protestant and advocate of English-only education, believed the Conservative government was pandering to Quebec and Catholic interests by supporting denominational schools. He led the Equal Rights movement and by 1893 was effectively sitting as an Independent, campaigning vigorously against separate schools and what he called "French domination" of Canadian politics.

McCarthy never returned to the Conservative fold. He sat as an Independent promoting his anti-Catholic, pro-English provincial rights agenda until his death in 1898 from injuries sustained in a carriage accident. The Manitoba Schools Question he championed ultimately became one of the defining issues of the 1896 federal election, which brought Wilfrid Laurier and the Liberals to power. McCarthy's brand of Protestant nationalism foreshadowed the Orange Order's influence in early 20th-century Canadian politics.