David William Gordon was a Canadian politician from British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

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Gordon was born in Camden Township

Kent County, Ontario

Kent County, area 2,458 sq km is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. Population in 2006 was 108,589.The county was created in 1792 and named by John Graves Simcoe in honour of the English County. The county is in an alluvial plain between Lake St...

, Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

, the son of Michael Gordon. He went to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in 1856 and then moved to British Columbia in 1858, where he established himself as a professional architect and builder in Nanaimo, British Columbia

Nanaimo, British Columbia

Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has been dubbed the "Bathtub Racing Capital of the World" and "Harbour City". Nanaimo is also sometimes referred to as the "Hub City" because of its central location on Vancouver Island and due to the layout of the downtown...

. Gordon was a prominent citizen and one of the wealthiest men in the city. He ran as an unaffiliated candidate in the 1875 provincial election

British Columbia general election, 1875

This was the second election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871. Many of the politicians in the House had served with the Legislative Council or Assembly or the Executive Council, or had otherwise been stalwarts of the colonial era - some supporters of...

, losing a close race to John Bryden

John Bryden (MLA)

John Bryden was a Scottish-born businessman and political figure in British Columbia, Canada. He represented Nanaimo from 1875 to 1876 and North Nanaimo from 1894 to 1900 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia....

, an “opposition” candidate. Gordon was later successful in an 1877 by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 called because of Bryden’s resignation. He served as “government” member, supporting Premier George Anthony Walkem

George Anthony Walkem

George Anthony "Boomer" Walkem was a British Columbian politician and jurist.Born in Newry, Ireland, Walkem moved to then Colony of British Columbia in 1862 and served as a member of the appointed Legislative Council of British Columbia from 1864 to 1870 and was a supporter of Canadian confederation...

. He was unable to retain the seat in the following general election

British Columbia general election, 1878

This was the third election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871.- Non-party system :There were to be no political parties in the new province...

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Gordon ran as a Liberal-Conservative

Liberal-Conservative Party

The Liberal-Conservative Party was the formal name of the Conservative Party of Canada until 1873, although some Conservative candidates continued to run under the label as late as the 1911 election and others ran as simple Conservatives prior to 1873...

  candidate in the federal election

Canadian federal election, 1878

The Canadian federal election of 1878 was held on September 17 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 4th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the end of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie's Liberal government after only one term in office. Canada suffered an economic depression...

 just two months following his provincial defeat in 1878. He was unable to unseat incumbent 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...

 Arthur Bunster

Arthur Bunster

Arthur Bunster was a Canadian entrepreneur and Member of Parliament.Bunster was born in Queen's County , Ireland and was educated in Dublin, attending Trinity College. He came to Vancouver Island in 1856 and settled in Victoria, British Columbia. After trying his hand at several other ventures,...

 in the Vancouver (Island) district

Vancouver (electoral district)

Vancouver was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1904...

. Gordon was not deterred and later defeated Bunster by a wide margin in the following election

Canadian federal election, 1882

The Canadian federal election of 1882 was held on June 20, 1882 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Canada.Prime Minister Sir John A...

, in 1882. He was re-elected over 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...

opponent 1887 and acclaimed in 1891. Gordon died in office in 1893.

Gordon was married twice: to Emma Elizabeth Robb in 1864 and to Statira Catherine Shepard in 1886.