William Roche 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 and merchant.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, he was the son of William Roche and Susan Manning and was educated at the Halifax Academy and the Free Church Academy. Roche married Clara MacLean of Pictou. He served as an alderman for Halifax from 1849 to 1850. Roche was Vice-President of the Union Bank of Canada and President of the Halifax Fire Insurance Company. Roche served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1886 to 1897. From 1896 to 1897, he was a Minister Without Portfolio and Member of the Executive Council. He 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...

 for the electoral district of Halifax

Halifax (electoral district)

Halifax is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867.Since October 14, 2008, its Member of the Parliament has been Megan Leslie of the New Democratic Party....

 in the 1900 federal election

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...

. 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 re-elected in 1904

Canadian federal election, 1904

The Canadian federal election of 1904 was held on November 3 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Canada...

 and was defeated in 1908

Canadian federal election, 1908

The Canadian federal election of 1908 was held on October 26 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Liberal Party of Canada was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term in government with a majority government...

. He was summoned to the Senate of Canada on the advice of 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....

 representing the senatorial division of Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1910. He served until his death in 1925.

His uncle Charles Roche

Charles Roche

Charles Roche was a dry goods merchant and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Shelburne township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1830 to 1836....

served in the Nova Scotia assembly.