View source for Thomas Simpson Sproule

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| name             = Thomas Simpson Sproule
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}
| smallimage       = Thomas Simpson Sproule.jpg
| imagesize        = 
| office1           = [[Senate of Canada|Senator]] for Grey, Ontario
| appointed1        = [[Robert Borden]]
| term_start1       = 1915
| term_end1         = 1917
| constituency_MP2 = [[Grey East (federal electoral district)|Grey East]]
| parliament2      = Canadian
| predecessor2     = [[William Kingston Flesher]]
| successor2       = District was abolished in 1914
| term_start2      = 1878
| term_end2        = 1915
| order           = 
| office          = 13th [[Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada)|Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada]]
| predecessor     = [[Charles Marcil]]
| successor       = [[Albert Sévigny]]
| term_start      = November 15, 1911
| term_end        = December 2, 1915

| birth_date       = {{birth date|1843|10|25}}
| birth_place      = King Township, Upper Canada
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1917|11|10|1843|10|25}}
| death_place      = Markdale, Ontario
| nationality      = 
| spouse           = 
| party            = [[Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)|Conservative]]
| relations        = 
| children         = 
| residence        = 
| alma_mater       = [[University of Michigan]]
| occupation       = 
| profession       = 
| religion         = 
}}
'''Thomas Simpson Sproule''' (October 25, 1843 &ndash; November 10, 1917) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] parliamentarian, [[Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada]] from 1911&ndash;1915, and a member of the Canadian Senate from 1915–1917.

==Early life and education==
Sproule was born to James and Jane (née Mitchell) Sproule, farmers who had emigrated to [[King, Ontario|King Township]], [[Canada West]] from County of Tyrone, [[Ireland]].<ref name=enc>{{Cite book  | title = An Encyclopaedia of Canadian Biography Containing Brief Sketches and Steel Engravings of Canada's Prominent Men, Volume III | publisher = Canadian Press Syndicate | year = 1907  | location = Montreal  | page = 91  | url = https://archive.org/stream/encyclopediaofca03montuoft/encyclopediaofca03montuoft_djvu.txt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| title=Personal Census - Enumeration District | url=http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e094/e002346395.jpg | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601131601/http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e094/e002346395.jpg | archive-date=2016-06-01}}</ref>

His parents moved to [[Grey County]] when he was young, and he attended public schools there before studying at University of Michigan and Victoria University in [[Cobourg]]. He left school for two years before returning to Victoria University, graduating in 1868 with a degree in medicine.<ref name=enc/>

==Doctor, businessman, politician, and husband==
[[File:Knarsboro Hall, Markdale ON Canada.jpg|thumb|left|Knarsboro Hall, Markdale]]
After his graduation, Sproule first practised medicine at Craighurst, Ontario, before he moved to Galesburg, Michigan. He moved back to Grey County, and settled in [[Markdale, Ontario]], where in addition to his medical practice, he also opened a drug store, bought a large cattle farm, and invested in local businesses such as a flour mill and lumber yard.<ref name=enc/>

He turned to politics and succeeded the retiring [[William Kingston Flesher]] as MP of [[Grey East (federal electoral district)|Grey East]] in the [[1878 Canadian federal election|1878 election]] as a [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|MP]]. He also fell in love with Flesher's daughter, Mary Alice, and wooed her by having a beautiful Italianate house that he called Knarsboro Hall built for her in Markdale.<ref name=robinson>{{Cite book  | last=Robinson | first=Geraldine | title = Markdale and Flesherton: A Written Heritage | publisher = South Grey Museum | year = 1979  | location = Flesherton }}</ref> The couple was married in 1881, and had a daughter, Lillian.<ref name="enc" />

Sproule was also related to the famous NHL [[Toronto St. Patricks]] owner [[Harvey Sproule]]. Thomas Sproule's niece was Mary Elizabeth Sproule Head, of [[Milton, Ontario]], who along with her husband, John Head, cared for her young nephew Harvey Sproule and his sister.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.milton.halinet.on.ca/2493114/page/2|title = Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 24 Oct 1912, p. 2}}</ref>

Sproule was subsequently re-elected to Parliament eight times in succession.<ref name="parl">{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=7b93f979-f291-49f1-9a5c-54d08800f177|nolist=yes}}</ref> Both Sproule and his wife were dedicated teetotallers and [[Prohibition in Canada#Temperance movement|Prohibitionists]], and when Mary Alice Sproule was the hostess of her husband's political functions, she never allowed alcohol to be served.<ref name = robinson />

==Political views==
Sproule was a staunch [[Protestant]] from an [[Irish Unionist]] background. He was a member of the [[Orange Institution|Orange Order]], and rose to the position of "Master and Sovereign." In 1906, he became "President of the Imperial Grand Council of the World." The Order was noted for its anti-French and anti-Catholic views, particularly at the time.

As a Conservative MP, he was a supporter of [[Canadian Prime Minister]] Sir [[John A. Macdonald]], but his loyalty to Orangeism led him to differ with his party's leadership on issues of language and religion, particularly on the [[Manitoba Schools Question]]. Sproule opposed any concession to Catholic [[separate schools]] or French-language instruction.

Following the fall of the Conservative government in the [[1896 Canadian federal election|1896 election]], largely by the divisions over the school issue, he became a pronounced critic of the immigration policies of Sir [[Wilfrid Laurier]]'s government. Sproule opposed the admission to Canada of non-British migrants. He supported the abolition of French-language instruction in [[Ontario]] schools, and the implementation of [[Regulation 17]]. Sproule also opposed the expansion of French-language services by the federal government.

==Speaker of the House==
Following the defeat of the Laurier government in the [[1911 Canadian federal election|1911 election]], the new Conservative Prime Minister, [[Robert Laird Borden]], nominated Sproule to the position of Speaker of the House of Commons. Because Sproule had to lead the House in prayers in both English and French, he embarked on French lessons despite being a lifelong opponent of the language.

During a thirty-six-day [[filibuster]] on the question of the government's naval bill, Sproule lost his patience after weeks of 24-hour sessions, and became the first Speaker ever to "name" a member of the House for disorderly conduct.

==Illness and death==
Sproule was forced to retire from the Speakership due to ill health, and was named to the [[Senate of Canada]] in 1915. He served for two years until his death in 1917.<ref name=parl/> Four years after his death, Sproule's wife Mary Alice sold Knarsboro Hall,<ref>{{cite episode| title = Markdale's Knarsboro Hall| url = http://www.560cfos.ca/podcast.php?PodcastID=3138| series = Georgian Bay Explorer| credits = Bob Durant| station = CFOS| location = Owen Sound| access-date = 14 September 2013| archive-date = 22 October 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141022031249/http://www.560cfos.ca/podcast.php?PodcastID=3138| url-status = dead}}</ref> the house Sproule had built for her, and went to live with her daughter where she stayed until her death in 1941.<ref name=robinson />

== Electoral record ==
{{1878 Canadian federal election/Grey East}}
{{1882 Canadian federal election/Grey East}}
{{1887 Canadian federal election/Grey East}}
{{1891 Canadian federal election/Grey East}}
{{1896 Canadian federal election/Grey East}}
{{1900 Canadian federal election/Grey East}}
{{1904 Canadian federal election/Grey East}}
{{1908 Canadian federal election/Grey East}}
{{1911 Canadian federal election/Grey East}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{DictCanbio|ID=7720}}
*{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=5656}}

{{Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sproule, Thomas Simpson}}
[[Category:1843 births]]
[[Category:1917 deaths]]
[[Category:Physicians from Ontario]]
[[Category:Canadian senators from Ontario]]
[[Category:Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs]]
[[Category:Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario]]
[[Category:Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:People from King, Ontario]]
[[Category:University of Michigan alumni]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Senate of Canada]]