Henri Bourassa, a young Liberal Party MP from Montreal, rose to national prominence in 1899 when he resigned his seat in Parliament in protest at the Liberal government's decision to send troops to support the British in the South African War of 1899–1902. Bourassa was opposed to all Canadian participation in British wars and would go on to become a key figure in fighting for an independent Canadian foreign policy. He is considered both a forebear of French-Canadian nationalists as well as a Canadian nationalist more generally. He was also an early promoter of the bi-cultural Anglo-French concept of Canada, and an impassioned advocate for the political and cultural equality of all French Canadians within Confederation, wherever they may reside.