Background
Blake was born in 1833, in Adelaide Township, Middlesex County, Upper Canada, the son of William Hume Blake and Catherine Honoria Hume.
Blake was born in 1833, in Adelaide Township, Middlesex County, Upper Canada, the son of William Hume Blake and Catherine Honoria Hume.
Blake was educated at Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto. He was admitted to the bar in 1856 and practiced law in Toronto.
In 1867 he won seats in both the provincial legislature and the House of Commons and in 1870-1871 was leader of the opposition in the legislature. From 1871 to 1872 he was Premier of Ontario, but in the latter year a law was passed forbidding dual representation, and Blake resigned his premiership, electing to sit in the House of Commons. Under the administration of Alexander Mackenzie, for whose triumph in 1873 Black was largely responsible, he was minister of justice from 1875 to 1877, and for the next two years was president of the Council. In 1880 he succeeded Mackenzie as leader of the Liberal Party, but after the party suffered defeat in the general elections of 1882 and 1887 Blake resigned as leader, continuing as a private member of the House of Commons. He retired from Canadian politics in 1891 and went to Ireland. He was elected to the British House of Commons in 1892 as a Nationalist member for South Longford and served until he retired in 1907 and returned to Canada. He died in Toronto, on March 1, 1912.
In 1880 he succeeded Mackenzie as leader of the Liberal Party, but after the party suffered defeat in the general elections of 1882 and 1887 Blake resigned as leader, continuing as a private member of the House of Commons.
Edward Blake married Margaret Cronyn, the daughter of Benjamin Cronyn and Margaret Ann (Bickerstaff), in 1856. The couple had seven children, four of whom survived them.