Howe, Joseph (1804-1873), was a political leader and newspaper editor in the Canadian colony of Nova Scotia. Largely because of Howe’s efforts, Nova Scotia became the first completely self-governing colony in the British Empire.
Howe was born on Dec. 13, 1804, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From 1828 to 1841, he owned and edited the Novascotian, a Halifax newspaper that supported economic development and political reform. Howe was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1836 to 1851. In the Assembly, he promoted self-government for Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia became self-governing in 1848. Howe served as premier of the colony from 1860 to 1863.
Howe led an unsuccessful effort to block Nova Scotia’s entry into the Dominion of Canada, a union of Canadian colonies formed in 1867. He objected chiefly because the colony’s membership was approved by the Nova Scotia legislature without a vote by Nova Scotians.
In 1869, Howe joined the Cabinet of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, as president of the Privy Council. Macdonald made him secretary of state for the Canadian provinces later that year. Howe became lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia in 1873. He died on June 1, 1873.
