Sir Robert of Grand Pré

"'Our hearts are united in inflexible determination; that cause for which we have drawn the sword shall be maintained unto honour and triumph.'" Sir Robert Borden GCMG KC (26 June 1854 - 10 June 1937) was a Canadian businessman, diplomat, politician, soldier and statesman. During his career, he served as eighth Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada and twentieth President of His Majesty's Privy Council. He was one of the founders of the League of Nations.

Borden's administration governed Canada between 1911 and 1918, during which time the First World War began, the country's first domestic, standing army was raised, compulsory military service was mandated for the Dominion's men and imperial forces invaded Anatolia, Gaul and Mesopotamia. During his tenure, he deployed air, military and naval forces throughout Eurasia, nationalised trans-continental railway infrastructure and oversaw an unprecedented expansion of the Dominion's armed forces which saw it ascend temporarily to the status of a geopolitical superpower.

Personally, Sir Robert authored Article IX of the Imperial Conference Agreement, 1936; this clause consigned to the British diaspora's Dominions an equal role in determining the economic and foreign policy of the United Kingdom and, thus, an equal role in determining the role of the British Empire in the world. He introduced the Military Service Act, 1917, to the House of Commons of Canada, mandating military service for the country's adult male population. Later, as minister plenipotentiary, he represented the Dominion of Canada at the European Peace Conference of 1919 and the European Naval Conference of 1922 where he signed, on behalf of the country, the Treaty of Versailles, 1919 and the Treaty of Washington, 1922, respectively.