William Balfour
Encyclopedia
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in 1895-1896 and served as Liberal
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
MLA for Essex South from 1882 to 1896.
He was born in Forfar
Forfar
Forfar is a parish, town and former royal burgh of approximately 13,500 people in Angus, located in the East Central Lowlands of Scotland. Forfar is the county town of Angus, which was officially known as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1929, when the ancient name was reinstated, and...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1851, the son of David Balfour and Janet Douglas, and came to St. Catharines, 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...
with his family in 1857. He studied at the Grantham Academy and went on to teach school in Grantham and Louth townships. In 1872, with Robert Matheson, he became the owner of the St. Catharines News. Balfour moved to Amherstburg
Amherstburg, Ontario
Amherstburg is a Canadian town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario. It is approximately south of the U.S...
in 1874 and became owner of the Amherstburg Echo
Amherstburg Echo
-History:The Amherstburg Echo was founded in November 1874 by William D. Balfour and John A. Auld. Upon Balfour's death in 1896, Arthur W. Marsh came to Amherstburg and joined Auld at the Echo...
with John Allan Auld
John Allan Auld
John Allan Auld was an Ontario newspaper owner and political figure. He represented Essex South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal member from 1896 to 1908....
. He married Josephine Brodhead that same year. Balfour served as reeve for Amherstburg from 1878 to 1882. He ran unsuccessfully in the provincial riding of Essex South in 1879 but was later elected in that riding in an 1882 by-election after Lewis Wigle
Lewis Wigle
Lewis Wigle was an Ontario farmer, businessman and political figure. He represented Essex South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1875 to 1882 and in the Canadian House of Commons from 1882 to 1887 as a Conservative member.He was born in Gosfield Township, Essex County, Canada West in...
was elected to the federal parliament.
In 1884, Balfour reported that he had been offered a bribe to withdraw his support from the government of Oliver Mowat
Oliver Mowat
Sir Oliver Mowat, was a Canadian politician, and the third Premier of Ontario from 1872 to 1896, making him the longest serving premier of that province and the 3rd longest in all of Canadian history...
. During his time in office, he opposed provincial toll-roads and supported the vote for women and the admission of women to the practice of law. Balfour also introduced a bill in 1884 which authorized Delos Rogest Davis, the son of a former slave, to practice law in Ontario.
In July 1896, Balfour was named provincial secretary. He died in office in Toronto a short time later that year, aged 45, from complications caused by tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and was buried at Amherstburg.
His son, David A. Balfour
David A. Balfour
David A. Balfour was a municipal politician in Toronto, Canada. He was active in civic politics from 1939 until 1955. This included twelve years on the Board of Control, a longer service than anyone prior....
, became a prominent municipal politician in Toronto.