wealthy. During his period in Victoriaville, Laurier opted to accept Confederation and identify himself as a moderate liberal, as opposed to a radical liberal. Early political career (1871–1887) Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1871–1874) A member of the Quebec Liberal Party, Laurier was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Drummond-Arthabaska in the 1871 Quebec general election, though the Liberal Party altogether suffered a landslide defeat. To win the provincial riding, Laurier campaigned on increasing funding for education, agriculture, and colonization. His career as a provincial politician was not noteworthy, and very few times would he make speeches in the legislature. Member of Parliament (1874–1887) Laurier resigned from the provincial legislature to enter federal politics as a Liberal. He was elected to the House of Commons in the January 22, 1874 election, representing the riding of Drummond—Arthabaska. In this election, the Liberals led by Alexander Mackenzie heavily triumphed, as a result of the Pacific Scandal that was initiated by the Conservative Party and the Conservative prime minister, John A. Macdonald. Laurier ran a simple campaign, denouncing Conservative corruption. As a member of Parliament (MP), Laurier's first mission was to build prominence by giving speeches in the House of Commons. He gained considerable attention when he delivered a speech on political liberalism on June 26, 1877, in front of about 2,000 people. He stated, "Liberal Catholicism is not political liberalism" and that the Liberal Party is not "a party composed of men holding perverse doctrines, with a dangerous tendency, and knowingly and deliberately progressing towards revolution." He also stated, "The policy of the Liberal party is to protect [our] institutions, to defend them and spread them, and, under the sway of those institutions, to develop the country’s latent resources. That is the policy of the Liberal party and it has no other." The speech helped Laurier become a leader of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party. From October 1877 to October 1878, Laurier served briefly in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Mackenzie as minister of inland revenue. However, his appointment triggered an October 27, 1877 ministerial by-election. In the by-election, he lost his seat in Drummond—Arthabaska. On November 11, he ran for the seat of Quebec East, which he narrowly won. From November 11, 1877, to his death on February 17, 1919, Laurier's seat would be Quebec East. Laurier won reelection for Quebec East