William Ferguson was a politician in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, Canada

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...

. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...

 from 1899 to 1903 and from 1907 to 1914, as a member of the Conservative Party

Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is the only right wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is also the official opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.-Origins and early years:...

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Ferguson was a farmer, and lived in Hamiota

Hamiota, Manitoba

Hamiota is a growing community located on Provincial Trunk Highway 21 in Manitoba, Canada, midway between the Trans-Canada Highway and the Yellowhead Highway....

 during his political career. He first campaigned for the Manitoba legislature in the 1896 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1896

This was the ninth Manitoba general election and was held on January 15, 1896....

, and lost to Liberal

Manitoba Liberal Party

The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...

 incumbent David McNaught by fifty-four votes in the Saskatchewan constituency.

He ran again for Saskatchewan in the 1899 election

Manitoba general election, 1899

This was the tenth Manitoba general election and was held on December 7, 1899....

, and defeated Liberal candidate John Henry McConnell

John Henry McConnell

John Henry McConnell was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1914 to 1922, as a member of the Liberal Party....

 by fifteen votes. The Conservatives won this election, and Ferguson served in the legislature as a backbench supporter of premiers

Premier of Manitoba

The Premier of Manitoba is the first minister for the Canadian province of Manitoba. He or she is the province's head of government and de facto chief executive. Until the early 1970s, the title "Prime Minister of Manitoba" was used frequently. Afterwards, the word Premier, derived from the French...

 Hugh John Macdonald

Hugh John Macdonald

Sir Hugh John Macdonald, PC was the only surviving son of the first Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald, and was a politician in his own right, serving as a member of the Canadian House of Commons and a federal cabinet minister, and briefly as the eighth Premier of Manitoba.-Early...

 and Rodmond Palen Roblin

Rodmond Palen Roblin

Sir Rodmond Palen Roblin, KCMG was a businessman and politician in Manitoba, Canada .Roblin was born in the town of Sophiasburgh, in Prince Edward County, Canada West . The Roblin family were descended from Dutch American Loyalist farmers Philip and Elizabeth Roblin from Smith's Cove in Orange...

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Redistribution forced Ferguson into the Hamiota constituency for the 1903 election

Manitoba general election, 1903

Manitoba's general election of July 20, 1903 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The result was a second consecutive majority government for the Conservative Party of Manitoba, now led by Premier Rodmond Palen Roblin...

, and he lost to Liberal David Jackson by twenty-two votes. He was returned to the legislature for Hamiota in the 1907 election

Manitoba general election, 1907

Manitoba's general election of March 7, 1907 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The result was a third consecutive majority government for the Conservative Party of Manitoba, led by premier Rodmond Palen Roblin...

, and won again in 1910

Manitoba general election, 1910

Manitoba's general election of July 11, 1910 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The result was a fourth consecutive majority government for the Conservative Party of Manitoba, led by premier Rodmond Palen Roblin. Roblin's electoral machine won...

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Ferguson served as chair of public accounting during his time in the legislature. His biographical entry in the Canadian Parliamentary Guide indicates that he was popular with both sides of the house.

He lost to John Henry McConnell by 398 votes in the 1914 election

Manitoba general election, 1914

Manitoba's general election of July 10, 1914 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The result was a fifth consecutive majority government for the Conservative Party, led by premier Rodmond P. Roblin...

, and by 347 votes in a 1920

Manitoba general election, 1920

Manitoba's general election of 29 June 1920 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.-Background:...

rematch.