Christopher William Bunting

Christopher William Bunting
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Welland
In office
1878–1882
Preceded byWilliam Alexander Thomson
Succeeded byJohn Ferguson
Personal details
Born(1837-09-01)1 September 1837
Amigan, Limerick, Ireland
Died14 January 1896(1896-01-14) (aged 58)
Toronto, Ontario
NationalityBritish subject
Political partyLiberal-Conservative
Occupationmerchant, newspaper owner, newspaper publisher

Christopher William Bunting (1 September 1837 – 14 January 1896) was an Irish-born politician, merchant, newspaper owner and newspaper publisher.

Born in Amigan, Limerick, Ireland, he was the son of William Bunting and Jane Crowe and came to Canada West with his mother and sister in 1850 after the death of his father. Bunting worked as a compositor at The Globe, later becoming a foreman.[1] He then worked for eleven years in the wholesale grocery business. In 1868, he married Mary Elizabeth Ellis.[citation needed]

In 1877, in partnership with John Riordon, he became co-owner of The Toronto Mail. The partners gained control of the Toronto Empire in 1895 and amalgamated the two papers to form The Mail and Empire.[2][3]

Bunting was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a Member of the Liberal-Conservatives in the 1878 election to represent the riding of Welland. He was defeated in the 1882 election in the riding of Durham West under an unknown political affiliation.[4]

Bunting died in Toronto of Bright's disease at the age of 58.[5]

1878 Canadian federal election: Welland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal–Conservative Christopher William Bunting 1,926 51.6
Unknown H. Edwin 1,810 48.4
Total valid votes 3,736 100.0
  1. ^ Hill, R. (2014). Voice of the Vanishing Minority. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, p.p.156.
  2. ^ Mackintosh, P. (2017). Newspaper City. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p.261.
  3. ^ Slater, S. (2017). Secret History Files: The Extraordinary Tale of Christopher Bunting. [online] Limerick Life. Available at: http://limerick.life/2017/11/29/from-croagh-to-canada-the-extraordinary-tale-of-christopher-bunting/ [Accessed 15 Dec. 2018].
  4. ^ Slater, S. (2018). Who was Christopher William Bunting • People & Genealogy. [online] Limerick's Life. Available at: http://limerickslife.com/christopher-william-bunting/ [Accessed 15 Dec. 2018].
  5. ^ Brian P. N. Beaven, "BUNTING, CHRISTOPHER WILLIAM", in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed 15 December 2018, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bunting_christopher_william_12E.html.