20 and 21, 1893, Laurier convened a Liberal convention in Ottawa. The convention established that unrestricted reciprocity was intended to develop Canada's natural resources and that keeping a customs tariff was intended to generate revenue. Laurier subsequently undertook a series of speaking tours to campaign on the convention's results. Laurier visited Western Canada in September and October 1894, promising to relax the Conservatives' National Policy, open the American market, and increase immigration. Macdonald died only three months after he defeated Laurier in the 1891 election. After Macdonald's death, the Conservatives went through a period of disorganization with four short-serving leaders. The fourth prime minister after Macdonald, Charles Tupper, became prime minister in May 1896 after Mackenzie Bowell resigned as a result of a leadership crisis that was triggered by his attempts to offer a compromise for the Manitoba Schools Question, a dispute which emerged after the provincial government ended funding for Catholic schools in 1890. Tupper faced Laurier in the 1896 federal election, in which the schools dispute was a key issue. While Tupper supported overriding the provincial legislation to reinstate funding for the Catholic schools, Laurier was vague when giving his position on the matter, proposing an investigation of the issue first and then conciliation, a method he famously called, "sunny ways". On June 23, Laurier led the Liberals to their first victory in 22 years, despite losing the popular vote. Laurier's win was made possible by his sweep in Quebec. Prime Minister (1896–1911) Domestic policy Manitoba Schools Question One of Laurier's first acts as prime minister was to implement a solution to the Manitoba Schools Question, which had helped to bring down the Conservative government of Charles Tupper earlier in 1896. The Manitoba legislature had passed a law eliminating public funding for Catholic schooling. Supporters of Catholic schools argued that the new statute was contrary to the provisions of the Manitoba Act, 1870, which had a provision relating to school funding, but the courts rejected that argument and held that the new statute was constitutional. The Catholic minority in Manitoba then asked the federal government for support, and eventually, the Conservatives proposed remedial legislation to override Manitoba's legislation. Laurier opposed the remedial legislation on the basis of provincial rights and succeeded in blocking its passage by Parliament. Once elected, Laurier reached a compromise with the provincial premier, Thomas Greenway. Known as the Laurier-Greenway Compromise, the agreement did not