William Cameron Edwards
Encyclopedia
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,...
.
He was born in Clarence Township in Russell County, Ontario
Russell County, Ontario
Russell County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario.It was created in 1800 from a portion of Stormont County. It later merged with Prescott County to form Prescott and Russell United Counties....
in 1844, the son of William Edwards and Ann Cameron, received basic schooling in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and, at a young age, began work in the timber industry at Thurso
Thurso, Quebec
Thurso is a city in the Papineau Regional County Municipality in the Outaouais region of western Quebec. It is located on the Ottawa River, and is within Canada's National Capital Region...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. He founded W.C. Edwards & Company which built large sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s at Rockland
Rockland, Ontario
Rockland is a bilingual community located about east of downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, part of the city of Clarence–Rockland. Rockland has a population of 9,210.-History:...
and New Edinburgh
New Edinburgh
New Edinburgh is a small neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada. It is located to the east of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Beechwood Avenue, to the east the border is less regular but is marked in part by Springfield...
. Up until 1920, Edwards' company also operated a sawmill on the Petite-Nation River
Petite-Nation River
The Petite-Nation River is a river in western Quebec, Canada, that flows from the Laurentian mountains to empty into the Ottawa River near Plaisance, Quebec. The river is 97 km in length....
in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
at North Nation Mills, north of Plaisance
Plaisance, Quebec
Plaisance is a village located in the Regional County Municipality of Papineau in western Quebec. The village is situated on the Ottawa River near the mouth of the Petite-Nation River, 70 km from Gatineau and 160 km from Montreal on Route 148....
.
In 1885, he married Catherine Wilson.
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 was five times elected as a Member of Parliament representing the Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
electoral district
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Russell
Russell (Ontario electoral district)
Russell was a federal and provincial electoral district in eastern Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1967....
. He was first elected in the Canadian federal election of 1887
Canadian federal election, 1887
The Canadian federal election of 1887 was held on February 22, 1887 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Canada.The Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John A...
, and was re-elected in 1888, 1891
Canadian federal election, 1891
The Canadian federal election of 1891 was held on March 5 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Canada. It was won by the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald....
, 1896
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...
and 1900
Canadian federal election, 1900
The Canadian federal election of 1900 was held on November 7 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Canada. As a result of the election, the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, was re-elected to a second majority government, defeating the...
. On 17 March 1903 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...
upon the recommendation of Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
. He represented the senatorial division of Russell County, Ontario
Russell County, Ontario
Russell County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario.It was created in 1800 from a portion of Stormont County. It later merged with Prescott County to form Prescott and Russell United Counties....
until his death in Ottawa.
At one time, Edwards owned the residence at 24 Sussex Drive
24 Sussex Drive
24 Sussex Drive is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada, located in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario. Built between 1866 and 1868 by Joseph Merrill Currier, it has been the official home of the Canadian prime minister since 1951.-History:The house at 24 Sussex...
, having purchased it from Joseph Merrill Currier
Joseph Merrill Currier
Joseph Merrill Currier was a Canadian member of parliament and businessman.He was born in North Troy, Vermont in 1820 and moved to Canada in 1837, where he began work in the timber trade. Around 1850, he set up a sawmill and gristmill operation at Manotick, Ontario with Moss Kent Dickinson...
in 1902. Edwards was also president of Canada Cement, was a noted livestock breeder and served as president of the Russell Agricultural Society.
His nephew Gordon Cameron Edwards
Gordon Cameron Edwards
Gordon Cameron Edwards was a Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was born in Thurso and became a lumber merchant....
also served in the House of Commons.