Adam Johnston Fergusson Blair, PC

Queen's Privy Council for Canada

The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...

 (4 November 1815 – 30 December 1867), known prior to 1862 as Adam Johnston Fergusson, was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

.

Born in Perthshire

Perthshire

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

, 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...

, the son of Adam Fergusson and his first wife Jemima Johnston Blair, he immigrated to Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

 with his family in 1833. He was called to the bar of Upper Canada in 1839 and set up practice in Guelph

Guelph

Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...

. He was named a judge in the court for Wellington District in 1842.

He resigned from the bench to run as a Reform Party

Reform Party (pre-Confederation)

The Reform movement, sometimes referred to as the Reform Party, began in the 1830s as the movement in the English speaking parts of British North America . It agitated for responsible government....

 candidate in the general election of 1847. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the...

 for the riding of Waterloo and reelected in 1851. He represented the South riding of Wellington from 1854 to 1857. In 1860, he was elected to the Legislative Council

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada

The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the province of Ontario...

 for Brock division. He served as receiver general from March to May 1863, when he was named provincial secretary. He supported the Quebec resolutions in the legislative council and, in 1866, was named president of the executive council after the resignation of George Brown

George Brown (Canadian politician)

George Brown was a Scottish-born Canadian journalist, politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation...

.

Following Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...

, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate

Canadian Senate

The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

 on 23 October 1867 by a royal proclamation of Queen Victoria  Sitting as a Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

, he represented the senatorial division

Canadian Senate divisions

Canadian Senate divisions refers to two things. First, to the four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators as set out in the Constitution of Canada Canadian Senate divisions refers to two things. First, to the four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators as set out in the Constitution of Canada...

of Ontario until his death, only 2 months and six days after his appointment.

He added Blair to his surname in 1862 in order to inherit the Blair estate in Scotland after the death of his older brother Neil James Fergusson Blair.