Andrew Ross McMaster was a Quebec politician.

He was born in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 to Captain John Andrew McMaster and his wife Amelia and educated at Montreal High School, Montreal Collegiate Institute and at McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 and the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

. Graduating with a law degree, he was admitted to the Quebec bar in 1901 and was made King's Counsel in 1910.

McMaster practiced law in Montreal with the firm of Fleet, Falconer, Cook, Brodie, Magee, Papineau, Campbell, Couture, Kerry and Bruneau before becoming Crown Attorney

Crown attorney

Crown Attorneys or Crown Counsel are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada.Crown Attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code of Canada...

 for the district of Montreal.

Entering politics, McMaster was elected to the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 in the 1917 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1917

The 1917 Canadian federal election was held on December 17, 1917, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Canada. Described by historian Michael Bliss as the "most bitter election in Canadian history", it was fought mainly over the issue of conscription...

 defeating Brigadier General Dennis Draper

Dennis Draper

Brigadier-General Dennis Colborne Draper was the Chief Constable of the Toronto Police Department from 1928 to 1946.-Early life:Draper was born and raised in Sutton in the Brome region of Quebec...

 in the riding of Brome

Brome (electoral district)

Brome was a federal electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1925....

. The election was held as a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917

Conscription Crisis of 1917

The Conscription Crisis of 1917 was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I.-Background:...

 and McMaster ran for the anti-conscription Laurier Liberals

Laurier Liberals

Prior to the 1917 federal election in Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada split into two factions:* the Laurier Liberals, who opposed conscription of soldiers to support Canada's involvement in World War I and who were led by former Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier; and* the Liberal Unionists who...

. He was re-elected in the 1921 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1921

The Canadian federal election of 1921 was held on December 6, 1921 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 14th Parliament of Canada. The Union government that had governed Canada through the First World War was defeated, and replaced by a Liberal government under the young leader...

 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 did not run for re-election in 1925

Canadian federal election, 1925

The Canadian federal election of 1925 was held on October 29 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 15th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal Party formed a minority government. This precipitated the "King-Byng Affair".The Liberals under...

.

Moving to provincial politics, McMaster was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec

Legislative Assembly of Quebec

The Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...

 as the Quebec Liberal Party MLA for Compton

Compton (provincial electoral district)

Compton was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec. Located in the Estrie region, the riding existed from 1867 to 1972 before it was merged with Mégantic to form the Mégantic-Compton riding.-Members of Legislative Assembly:...

 in a 1929 by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 shortly after he had been appointed Provincial Treasurer

Provincial Treasurer

In Canadian politics the Provincial Treasurer is a senior protfolio in the Executive Council of provincial governments. The position is the provincial equivalent of the Minister of Finance and is responsible for setting the provincial budget. In most provinces the title of the position has changed...

 in the Quebec government

Executive Council of Quebec

The Executive Council of Quebec is the cabinet of the government of Quebec, Canada....

 of Louis-Alexandre Taschereau

Louis-Alexandre Taschereau

Louis-Alexandre Taschereau was a the 14th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from 1920 to 1936. He was elected four times, the first in 1900, in the riding of Montmorency. He was also a member of the Parti libéral du Québec...

. He succeeded Jacob Nicol

Jacob Nicol

Jacob Nicol was a Canadian lawyer, newspaper publisher, and politician.-Early life:Born in Roxton Pond, Quebec, the son of Philip Nicol, farmer and tool manufacturer, and Sophie Cloutier, Nicol was educated at Feller College, McMaster University, and Université Laval à Québec...

 as both Treasurer and as the MLA for Compton. McMaster preented one budget

Government budget

A government budget is a legal document that is often passed by the legislature, and approved by the chief executive-or president. For example, only certain types of revenue may be imposed and collected...

, in January 1930 before the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 had made its impact. He resigned from cabinet in October 1930 and retired from politics at the 1931 provincial election

Quebec general election, 1931

The Quebec general election of 1931 was held on August 24, 1931 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, was re-elected, defeating the Quebec Conservative Party, led by Camillien Houde.It...

.

In the 1936 provincial election

Quebec general election, 1936

The Quebec general election of 1936 was held on August 17, 1936 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Adélard Godbout.This marked the end of slightly more...

 McMaster broke with the Liberals and endorsed his son-in-law, Jonathan Robinson who was a candidate for the rival Union Nationale in the provincial electoral district of Brome

Brome (provincial electoral district)

Brome was a provincial electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada. Located in the Estrie region, the riding was created in 1867. In 1973, it became part of the riding of Brome-Missisquoi.-Members of Legislative Assembly:...

. Robinson was elected and was served as Minister of Mines in the government of Maurice Duplessis

Maurice Duplessis

Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis served as the 16th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from 1936 to 1939 and 1944 to 1959. A founder and leader of the highly conservative Union Nationale party, he rose to power after exposing the misconduct and patronage of Liberal Premier Louis-Alexandre...

in the 1940s.