Wilfrid Laurier was a Canadian politician and statesman who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. Regarded as one of the country’s greatest statesmen, he is remembered mostly for his attempts to define the role of French Canada in the federal state. Laurier was born in Saint-Lin to French-Canadian parents, and he studied at the Collège de L'Assomption, where he was taught by Catholic priests. He later went to McGill University in Montreal and was eventually called to the bar in 1864. During his time at the university, he became a leading member of the Institut Canadien, which was a political club of advanced liberals. He was chosen as the leader of the federal Liberal Party in 1887, and he gradually built up his party’s strength through his personal following, both in Quebec and in other places in Canada. He eventually led the Liberal Party to victory in the 1896 election, becoming the prime minister. He held this position until the Liberal Party was defeated by the Conservative Party in the 1911 election.