Richard Wilson-Smith 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...

 businessman and politician.

Biography

Born in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Wilson-Smith emigrated to Canada in 1878 settling 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...

. A few years after arriving in Montreal, he became publisher and chief editor of the Insurance and Finance Chronicle. In 1893, he was elected to the Montreal City Council

Montreal City Council

The Montreal City Council is the governing body of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal...

 as an alderman for St. Lawrence Ward. In 1896, he was unanimously elected Mayor of Montreal

Mayor of Montreal

The Mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of Montreal City Council.The Mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and provincial laws within Montreal....

 for a two-year term. He ran unsuccessfully as the 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...

 candidate for 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...

 for the riding St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence (electoral district)

St. Lawrence was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1892 to 1917.This riding was created in 1892 from parts of Montreal West and Montreal East ridings. It consisted of St. Louis and St. Lawrence wards in the city of Montreal....

 in the 1896 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1896

The Canadian federal election of 1896 was held on June 23, 1896 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Canada. Though the Conservative Party won a plurality of the popular vote, the Liberal Party, led by Wilfrid Laurier, won the majority of seats to form the...

. In 1892, he became a member of the Montreal Board of Trade, and in 1898 he purchased a
seat on the Montreal Stock Exchange.

He was one of the original directors of the Lachine Rapids Hydraulic and Land Company, which undertook successfully the development of the vast water power of the Lachine Rapids

Lachine Rapids

The Lachine Rapids are a series of rapids on the Saint Lawrence River, between the Island of Montreal and the south shore. They are located near the former city of Lachine....

. He was President of the Canada Accident Company, a trustee of the Guardian Assurance Company

Guardian Assurance Company

The Guardian Assurance Company was a very large British insurance company.-History:The Company was originally established in 1821 as Guardian Fire & Life. In 1902 it was renamed the Guardian Assurance Company....

, Vice-President of the Montreal Trust and Deposit Company, the National Security Company of New York and resident Vice-President of the American Surety Company.