File:Statue of Joseph Howe, Province House, Halifax (3609875020).jpg

Born in 1804 in Halifax, Joseph Howe was a Nova Scotian journalist and politican who spent his lift fighting for good, responsible government in Nova Scotia. In 1828, Howe began editing the Novascotian, which soon became one of the most influential papers in the province, largely because of Howe's numerous trips to promote the paper, meet with subscribers, and collect outstanding debts.

In 1835, Howe published an anonymous letter that accused the city and province's governments of corruption. Shortly thereafter, Howe was charged with seditious libel, a criminal offense. Because truth was at that time not a defense to libel, Howe could not find any attorneys willing to defend him - everyone he spoke with instead suggested that he give up the name of the letter's author and plead guilty, hoping for leniency. Instead, Howe (who did not have legal training) represented himself. After admitting at trial that he had published the letter, he spoke for six hours, citing evidence of corruption and noting the importance of a free press: "When I sit down in solitude to the labours of my profession, the only questions I ask myself are, What is right? What is just? What is for the public good?" The jury unanimously found Howe not guilty after only ten minutes of deliberation, despite instructions from the court to find him guilty.

Now famous throughout the province, Howe ran as a reformer in the 1836 elections. He then campaigned for responsible government until January 1848, when the province's governor finally acceded to the inevitable, and appointed a ministry de facto led by Howe (though James Uniacke was officially Premier, with Howe serving as Provincial Secretary).

Howe continued to serve in the House of Assembly, in and out of government, until 1863, when he accepted a position as an Imperial Fisheries Commissioner. Howe was thus outside of Canada when the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences on Confederation occured in 1864. Called back by friends who believed Nova Scotia was getting the raw end of the deal, Howe returned to the province and fought for several years against Confederation. When it became clear that Confederation could not be undone, Howe negotiated "better terms" with the new Canadian government and eventually joined John MacDonald's ministry. While initially viewed as a turncoat in Nova Scotia (where Confederation remained unpopular), he was eventually received warmly when he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia a few weeks before his death in 1873.