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William Barber (Ontario politician)

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William Barber
Ontario MPP
In office
1867–1875
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded byWilliam Durie Lyon
ConstituencyHalton
Personal details
BornMarch 1808
County Antrim in Ulster, Ireland
DiedAugust 26, 1887
Streetsville, Ontario, Canada[1]
NationalityCanadian
Political partyLiberal
OccupationBusinessman

William Barber (March 1808 – August 26, 1887) was a Canadian businessman and politician.

Early life

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His family came to Canada from County Antrim in Ulster, Ireland in 1822. The four Barber brothers built a woollen mill, foundry and sawmill in Georgetown, Ontario. In 1854, they built a paper mill on the Credit River near Streetsville, Ontario. In 1888, his nephew, John Roaf Barber, upgraded the mill to use hydroelectricity power, one of the early industrial applications of electricity in Canada.

In 1862, Barber built a brick home near Streetsville, Ontario now known as The Old Barber House.

Political career

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He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Halton from 1867 to 1875. In 1871 the Liberal Party dropped Barber as their candidate in the upcoming election, due to his support for Premier J. Sandfield Macdonald's self-described "Patent Combination" government.[2] In his stead, the party selected William Durie Lyon and the radical 'Clear Grits' platform he championed. Despite the withdrawal of Liberal support, Barber ran as an independent and successfully fended off Lyon's challenge, largely thanks to the significant Conservative support he had acquired.[3]

Four years after initially deselecting Barber, the Liberal Party readopted him at the 1875 election, thus preventing Lyon from contesting the riding of Halton on behalf of the party.[3]

Following the 1875 election, he was disqualified for having induced a voter to stay home,[4] and a byelection was held on November 15, 1875 which was won by William Durie Lyon.

Electoral record

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1867 Ontario general election: Halton
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal William Barber 1,556 56.62
Conservative Simcoe Kerr 1,192 43.38
Total valid votes 2,748 76.70
Eligible voters 3,583
Liberal pickup new district.
Source: Elections Ontario[5]
1871 Ontario general election: Halton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Barber 1,194 55.98 −0.65
Conservative William Durie Lyon 939 44.02 +0.65
Independent Mr. Appelbe 0 –  
Turnout 2,133 57.51 −19.19
Eligible voters 3,709
Liberal hold Swing −0.65
Source: Elections Ontario[6]
1875 Ontario general election: Halton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Barber 1,609 52.58 −3.40
Conservative William C. Beaty 1,451 47.42 +3.40
Turnout 3,060 68.18 +10.67
Eligible voters 4,488
Election voided
Source: Elections Ontario[7]

Further reading

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  • Pope, J.H. (1877). Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Halton. Toronto: Walker & Miles.

References

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  1. ^ "Death of Wm. Barber, Ex-M.P.P." The Acton Free Press. 1 September 1887. p. 2.
  2. ^ Pope 1877, p. 88.
  3. ^ a b Pope 1877, p. 83.
  4. ^ "Halton Election Trial". The Acton Free Press. 24 September 1875. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1867. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1871. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1875. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
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