Lawyer, judge.
Born at Cobourg, Ontario on 4 May 1857, he grew up in Peterborough where his father was an Anglican rector. Beck was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1879, and then went to Osgoode Hall Law School, and the University of Toronto to further his studies. In 1883 he joined a group of lawyers who were travelling to Winnipeg. He became partners with James Prendregast, a Roman Catholic, and an advocate for a separate school board for Catholic schools in Manitoba. Beck converted to Catholicism in 1883 and became active in the church, editing the Catholic Northwest Review out of Winnipeg. He also represented the College de St. Boniface in the senate of the University of Manitoba.
Beck became a strong liberal supporter because of their stance on Catholic separate schools, he opposed government regulation of teachers and textbooks within Roman Catholic schools, and the Liberal party acknowledged their special status. In 1907 Wilfred Laurier appointed him puisne Judge of the Supreme Court.
See also:
Nicholas du Bois Dominic Beck, Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.
This profile was prepared by Angela Graham.
Page revised: 28 June 2012
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