Edgar Dewdney
Encyclopedia
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,...
(November 5, 1835 – August 8, 1916) 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...
politician born in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
shire, 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...
. He served as Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
The Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia is the viceregal representative in British Columbia of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared with equally the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest...
.
Early life and career
Following his education in civil engineeringCivil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
, he emigrated from England to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in 1859. In 1864, Dewdney married Jane Shaw Moir, the daughter of a tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
owner from Ceylon. This marriage was without issue.
Dewdney was originally employed as a railway surveyor, and supervised the survey of New Westminster
New Westminster, British Columbia
New Westminster is an historically important city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and is a member municipality of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. It was founded as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia ....
. In 1865, Dewdney was appointed by Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
The Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia is the viceregal representative in British Columbia of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared with equally the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest...
Frederick Seymour
Frederick Seymour
Frederick Seymour was a colonial administrator. He served as the second Governor of the Colony of British Columbia from 1864 to 1866, and the first governor of the union of the two colonies, also named the Colony of British Columbia from 1866 to 1869.Seymour was the son of Henry Augustus Seymour,...
to oversee the construction of a trail to the East Kootenay
Kootenays
The Kootenay Region comprises the southeastern portion of British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Ktunaxa First Nation first encountered by explorer David Thompson.-Boundaries:The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay Land...
region of the British Columbia Interior
British Columbia Interior
The British Columbia Interior or BC Interior or Interior of British Columbia, usually referred to only as the Interior, is one of the three main regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the other two being the Lower Mainland, which comprises the overlapping areas of Greater Vancouver...
so that coastal merchants might benefit from the burgeoning trade associated with gold mining in that area. Although used for only a few years, parts of the Dewdney Trail, as it was known, remain to this day and are used for recreational hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
. Provincial Highway 3 largely follows the route of the Dewdney Trail.
Entry into politics
From 1868 to 1869, Dewdney became active in Colonial politics, representing the electoral district of KootenayKootenay (electoral districts)
Kootenay is a name found in various provincial and federal electoral districts in the Canadian province of British Columbia. This page lists ridings with the name Kootenay in them, and also other ridings within the Kootenay region....
in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....
. After B.C. joined the 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...
in 1871, he served as a Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the riding of Yale
Yale (electoral district)
Yale was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1892 and from 1917 to 1953....
following his election in 1872. He was appointed a member of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Sir John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
's cabinet in 1879, where he served as Indian commissioner for the North-West Territories until 1888.
In 1881, Macdonald arranged Dewdney's appointment as Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, then an executive position. Dewdney resigned his seat in the 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...
, but remained Indian commissioner during his term as Lieutenant-Governor, which lasted until 1888. Responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
had not been granted to the North-West Territories, so Dewdney was the Territories' head of government. Perhaps his most notable decision in office was changing the territorial capital from Battleford to Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
in 1883 -- a featureless location without water, trees or topography, but where Dewdney had secured substantial real estate for himself adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railway line.
After his term as Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, Dewdney was again elected to Parliament
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
and served as the member
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Assiniboia East (now southeastern Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
) from 1888 to 1891. During this period he also served as minister of the Interior and superintendent of Indian Affairs.
In 1892, he was appointed to the non-executive post of Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. He served in this post until 1897.
He retired from politics in 1900, after unsuccessfully running for Parliament in New Westminster, British Columbia
New Westminster, British Columbia
New Westminster is an historically important city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and is a member municipality of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. It was founded as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia ....
.
In 1909, following the death his wife Jane, Dewdney remarried. His new wife was Blanche Kemeys-Tynte, the daughter of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Charles John Kemeys-Tynte of Halswell, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, 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...
.
Honours
Dewdney had the prenomial "the Honourable" and the postnomial "PC" for life by virtue of being made a member of the Queen's Privy Council for CanadaQueen'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,...
on September 25, 1888.
Heritage
- A major east-west street in ReginaRegina, SaskatchewanRegina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
, Dewdney Avenue, is named after him; Government HouseGovernment House (Saskatchewan)Government House, Regina, Saskatchewan, was constructed as a residence for the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, whose territorial headquarters were in Regina until the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta were created out of the Territories in 1905 and Regina became the capital...
, the original Territorial government building and the local detachment of the RCMP (formerly its headquarters before these were transferred to Ottawa) and national training centre are on Dewdney Avenue. - Dewdney, British ColumbiaDewdney, British ColumbiaDewdney is an unincorporated community in the Central Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada, about 15 km east of the town of Mission. It was incorporated as a district municipality in 1893 but has since become unincorporated and is now represented as part of Electoral Area 'G' in the...
is the name of a locality immediately east of Mission, British ColumbiaMission, British ColumbiaMission, the core of which was formerly known as Mission City, is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Fraser River overlooking the City of Abbotsford and with that city is part of the Central Fraser Valley. Mission is the...
, located below the 920 m Dewdney Peak on the north shore of the Fraser RiverFraser RiverThe Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
. The community was the namesake of the former Dewdney provincial electoral districtDewdney (electoral district)Dewdney was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its predecessor was the riding of Westminster-Dewdney, which was created for the 1894 election from a partition of the Westminster riding, which was a rural-area successor to the original New Westminster...
and also of the now-dismantled Dewdney-Alouette Regional DistrictDewdney-Alouette Regional DistrictThe Dewdney-Alouette Regional District was a regional district in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, comprising the district municipalities of Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Mission and uncincorporated areas east to the Harrison River and north to the southern end of Lillooet Lake... - The Dewdney Trunk RoadDewdney Trunk RoadThe Dewdney Trunk Road was one of the earliest major roads in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada, originally running from Port Moody to its original destination at Dewdney, just east of Mission...
was one of the earliest main roads in the Lower Fraser ValleyFraser ValleyThe Fraser Valley is the section of the Fraser River basin in southwestern British Columbia downstream of the Fraser Canyon. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Fraser Canyon and stretches upstream from there, but in general British Columbian usage of the term refers to the stretch of the...
of British Columbia, running from Port MoodyPort Moody, British ColumbiaPort Moody is a small, crescent-shaped city in Metro Vancouver, located at the east end of Burrard Inlet in British Columbia, Canada. Port Moody is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south, and Burnaby on the west. The villages of Belcarra and Anmore, along with...
to the community of Dewdney. Today it exists in sections in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam is a major thoroughfare running between Maple RidgeMaple Ridge, British ColumbiaMaple Ridge is a District Municipality in British Columbia, located in the northeastern section of Metro Vancouver. Maple Ridge has a population of approximately 68,949.-History:...
and Mission (where it is now officially Dewdney Street) , today ending short of Dewdney at Hatzic.
See also
- List of Lieutenant-Governors of British Columbia
- List of Northwest Territories lieutenant-governors