Editing Joseph Howe (section)

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1804–1873)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| name             = Joseph Howe
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}
| caption          = Howe, [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada|PC]], [[Parliament of Canada|MP]], [[Nova Scotia House of Assembly|MLA]] by [[William Notman]]
| image          = Joseph Howe 1.jpg
| order1         = 3rd [[Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia]]
| term_start1    = May 1, 1873
| term_end1      = June 1, 1873
| predecessor1   = [[Charles Hastings Doyle]]
| successor1     = [[Adams George Archibald]]
| monarch1       = [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]]
| governor_general1 = [[Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava|The Earl of Dufferin]]
| premier1       = [[William Annand]]
| order2         = Premier of the Colony of Nova Scotia
| term_start2    = August 3, 1860
| term_end2      = June 6, 1863
| predecessor2   = [[William Young (Nova Scotia politician)|William Young]]
| successor2     = [[James W. Johnston]]
| office3 = [[House of Commons of Canada|MP]] for [[Hants (electoral district)|Hants]]
| term_start3 = 1867
| term_end3 = 1873
| predecessor3 = ''None''
| successor3 = [[Monson Henry Goudge]]
| office4 = [[Nova Scotia House of Assembly|MLA]] for [[Halifax (provincial electoral district)|Halifax County]]
| term_start4 = 1836
| term_end4 = February 24, 1851
| predecessor4 = 
| successor4 = 
| office5 = [[Nova Scotia House of Assembly|MLA]] for [[Cumberland (Nova Scotia electoral district)|Cumberland County]]
| term_start5 = 1851
| term_end5 = 1855
| predecessor5 = ''None''
| successor5 = 
| office6 = [[Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly]]
| term_start6 = 1840
| term_end6 = 1843
| predecessor6 = [[Samuel George William Archibald]]
| successor6 = [[William Young (Nova Scotia politician)|William Young]]
| birth_date     = December 13, 1804
| birth_place    = [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]]
| death_date     = June 1, 1873 (aged 68)
| death_place    = [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], Canada
| party          = [[Liberal Party of Nova Scotia|Reformer]]
| spouse         = Catherine Susan Ann McNab (1806–1890)
| children       = 
| signature      = Joseph Howe Signature.svg
}}

'''Joseph Howe''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a [[Nova Scotia]]n [[journalist]], [[politician]], [[public servant]], and [[poet]]. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer have made him a provincial legend.<ref name="DCB"/>

He was born the son of [[John Howe (loyalist)|John Howe]] and Mary Edes at [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] and inherited from his loyalist father an undying love for [[Great Britain]] and her [[British Empire|Empire]].{{sfnp|Beck|1982|pp=8–9}} At age 23, the self-taught but widely read Howe purchased the ''[[Novascotian]]'', soon making it into a popular and influential newspaper. He reported extensively on debates in the [[Nova Scotia House of Assembly]] and travelled to every part of the province writing about its geography and people.<ref name="DCB">{{Cite DCB |last=Beck |first=J. Murray |title=Howe, Joseph |volume=10 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/howe_joseph_10E.html|access-date=November 24, 2014}}</ref>
In 1835, Howe was charged with [[seditious libel]], a serious criminal offence, after the ''Novascotian'' published a letter attacking Halifax politicians and police for pocketing public money. Howe addressed the jury for more than six hours, citing numerous examples of civic corruption. The judge called for Howe's conviction, but swayed by his passionate address, jurors acquitted him in what is considered a landmark case in the struggle for a free press in Canada.<ref>Kesterton, W.H. (1967) ''A History of Journalism in Canada''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, pp. 21–23.</ref>

The next year, Howe was elected to the assembly as a liberal reformer, beginning a long and eventful public career. He was instrumental in helping Nova Scotia become the first British colony to win [[responsible government]] in 1848. He served as premier of Nova Scotia from 1860 to 1863 and led the unsuccessful fight against [[Canadian Confederation]] from 1866 to 1868. Having failed to persuade the British to repeal Confederation, Howe joined the federal cabinet of [[John A. Macdonald]] in 1869 and played a major role in bringing [[Manitoba]] into the union. Howe became the [[List of lieutenant governors of Nova Scotia#Lieutenant Governors of Nova Scotia, 1867-present|third]] [[Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia]] in 1873, but died after only three weeks in office.