Abram William Lauder was a Canadian lawyer and political figure. He represented Grey South

Grey South

Grey South was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1876 to 1917. It was located in the province of Ontario...

 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 from 1867 to 1874 and Grey East

Grey East

Grey East was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1917. It was located in the province of Ontario...

 from 1875 to 1884.

He was born at Bewcastle

Bewcastle

Bewcastle is a large civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England.According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 411. The parish is large and includes the settlements of Roadhead, Shopford, Blackpool Gate, Roughsike and The Flatt. To the north the parish extends...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1834, studied in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and later came to Canada West. He taught school for a while, then moved to Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, articled in law and was called to the bar in 1864.

In 1871, it was found that one of Lauder's supporters had used bribery to obtain votes; Lauder himself was not implicated, but was unseated as a result and then was reelected in the by-election that followed. Lauder later proved that a government land valuator, John L. Lewis, had influenced voters in Proton by promising benefits from a Liberal

Ontario Liberal Party

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

 government; also implicated were Archibald McKellar

Archibald McKellar

Archibald McKellar was briefly leader of Canada's Ontario Liberal Party from 1867 to 1868 and, unofficially, the first Leader of the Opposition in Ontario's new provincial legislature and went on to serve as Commissioner of Public Works in Ontario Premier Oliver Mowat's first government.He was...

, Adam Oliver

Adam Oliver

Adam Oliver was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Oxford South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal member from 1867 to 1876....

 and James Kirkpatrick Kerr

James Kirkpatrick Kerr

James Kirkpatrick Kerr, PC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and Senator. He served as Speaker of the Canadian Senate during the 11th Parliament from 14 January 1909 to 22 October 1911....

, the law partner of Ontario Premier

Premier of Ontario

The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...

 Edward Blake

Edward Blake

Dominick Edward Blake, PC, QC , known as Edward Blake, was the second Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1880 to 1887...

. In 1872, Lauder defended the strike committee of the Toronto Typographical Union against charges brought forward by the Master Printers' Association; Canadian law at the time was not clear on the status of labour organizations.

He died in Toronto in 1884.

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online