William Ross (Canadian politician)

The Hon.
William Ross
Senator for Victoria, Nova Scotia
In office
May 18, 1905 – March 17, 1912
Appointed byWilfrid Laurier
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Victoria, Nova Scotia
In office
1867–1874
Succeeded byCharles James Campbell
In office
1900–1904
Preceded byJohn Lemuel Bethune
Succeeded byElectoral district was abolished in 1903
Personal details
Born(1824-12-20)December 20, 1824
Boularderie, Nova Scotia, Canada
DiedMarch 17, 1912(1912-03-17) (aged 87)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada[1]
Political partyAnti-Confederate (1867-1869)
Liberal
SpouseEliza Moore
ResidenceHalifax, Nova Scotia[1]
CabinetMinister of Militia and Defence (1873-1874)

William Ross (December 20, 1824 – March 17, 1912) was a Canadian politician.[2]

Born on Boularderie Island, Nova Scotia, the son of John Ross, a Scottish immigrant,[3] and Robina McKenzie,[1] Ross was a merchant and shipbuilder.[2] In 1855, he married Eliza Moore. He represented Victoria County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1857 to 1867.[3] He was elected to the 1st Canadian Parliament in 1867. From 1873 to 1874, he was the Minister of Militia and Defence.[2] Ross resigned his seat in the House of Commons in 1874 after he was named customs collector for Halifax[4] and served until 1888.[1]

Ross also served as a Lieutenant-colonel in the Cape Breton Militia.[1]

In 1905, he was summoned to the Senate of Canada representing the senatorial division of Victoria, Nova Scotia. A Liberal, he served until his death in 1912.

  1. ^ a b c d e Johnson, J.K. (1968). The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967. Public Archives of Canada.
  2. ^ a b c William Ross – Parliament of Canada biography
  3. ^ a b The Canadian parliamentary companion, HJ Morgan (1869)
  4. ^ The Canadian parliamentary companion and annual register, 1877, CH Mackintosh