"Citizens of That Mighty Empire:" Imperial Sentiment Among Students at Wesley College, 1897-1902‪.‬

Since the dismantling of European empires in the decades that followed the Second World War imperialism" has most often carried negative connotations. Due to the recent conflicts in the Middle East, many in Canada and the West have once again taken "western imperialism" to task. Oftentimes, Canadian college or university students are some of the most vocal and passionate anti-imperialists. Yet that has not always been the case, as this study of student attitudes to imperialism indicates. The students that this article focuses on were from Wesley College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (1) In 1877 Methodists received a charter for a college in the recently federated University of Manitoba located in Winnipeg. However, due to the need for planning, support and finances, classes in the arts and theology only began in 1888. In 1895 the large stone building that still survives was completed near Manitoba College (a Presbyterian college, founded in 1871). (2) In 1938, these two schools merged to become United College, and in 1967 continued as a part of the new University of Winnipeg. Wesley College saw itself as having a critical role to play in the development of the church and nation, for as Neil Semple notes: