Asa Belknap Foster was a Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 businessman and political figure. He represented Bedford division in the Senate of Canada from 1867 to 1874 as a Conservative

Conservative Party of Canada (historical)

The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...

 member.

He was born in Newfane, Vermont

Newfane, Vermont

Newfane is the shire town of Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,680 at the 2000 census. The town includes the villages of Newfane and Williamsville.-History:...

 in 1817, the son of Sewell Foster

Sewell Foster

Sewell Foster was a physician and political figure in Canada East.He was born in Oakham, Massachusetts in 1792. He studied medicine, was licensed to practice in Vermont in 1815 and settled in Newfane there. In 1822, he moved to Frost Village near Waterloo in Lower Canada with his family...

, and settled near Waterloo

Waterloo, Quebec

Waterloo is a city in Quebec, included in La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality, in the administrative area of Montérégie. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 4,054...

 in Lower Canada

Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

 with his parents in 1822. He worked with his uncle in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 as a railway contractor from 1837 to 1852. He then returned to Waterloo, becoming a merchant and continued to work on railways, including the South Eastern Counties Junction Railway, the Canada Central Railway and the Brockville and Ottawa Railway. He was elected to represent Shefford

Shefford (electoral district)

Shefford is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867. Its population in 2006 was 100,000.-Demographics:Ethnic groups: 99.2% WhiteLanguages: 95.2% French, 3.2% English...

 in the Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the...

 in an 1858 by-election; he resigned in 1860 and was elected to the Legislative Council

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada

The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the province of Ontario...

 for Bedford. He served until Confederation

Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...

 when he was named to the Senate. He served as lieutenant in the local militia and was elected mayor for Waterloo in 1867. The Conservatives believed that Foster had provided information to the 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...

s that led to the Pacific Scandal

Pacific Scandal

The Pacific Scandal was a political scandal in Canada involving allegations of bribes being accepted by the Conservative government in the attempts of private interests to influence the bidding for a national rail contract...

; this belief was encouraged when Foster was given contracts to construct railways by the Liberals in 1874 and 1875. Foster was bankrupt by 1877 and was briefly imprisoned for debt in Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

. He died of heart disease in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

in 1877.