The "Sunny way" was the phrase which marked the Laurier years. This period was initiate on July 11, 1896 when the Conservatives were thrown from office by the electorate and replaced by the Liberals. The new government continued to open up the west, began to build up the military including a new Canadian navy, pushed new railways across the country and presided over the greatest gold rush the world has ever witnessed. These were times of growth, optimism, new frontiers, unlimited horizons and a hardening of the Canadian identity. .
