William Hunter was a businessman and political figure in 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...

. He represented Slocan

Slocan (electoral district)

Slocan was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It made its first appearance in the election of 1903 and its last in the general election of 1920...

 from 1907 to 1916 and from 1920 to 1924 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

 as a Conservative

British Columbia Conservative Party

The British Columbia Conservative Party is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected as the government in 1903, the party went into decline after 1933...

.

He was born in Hemmingford, Quebec, the son of William Hunter and Janet Mackay, and was educated on Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

. In 1884, Hunter came to British Columbia, where he was employed in railway construction for two years. He then worked at bridge building in Washington state until 1889, when he moved to Nelson

Nelson, British Columbia

Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the extreme West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Known as "The Queen City", and acknowledged for its impressive collection of restored heritage buildings from its glory days in a regional silver rush,...

. Hunter was involved in mining for a year. He next built the International Hotel in Nelson, selling the hotel after operating it for five months. He next operated as a general merchant in New Denver

New Denver, British Columbia

New Denver is a village in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, along the shore of Slocan Lake. New Denver was founded as a mining town in 1892, and briefly known as Eldorado City before being renamed after Denver, Colorado. It was incorporated as a village in 1929 and currently has approximately...

. In 1891, he moved to the future site of the town of Silverton

Silverton, British Columbia

Silverton is a village in the Slocan Valley area of the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the eastern shore of Slocan Lake south of New Denver. It is British Columbia's smallest municipality in both population and area....

 and built a steamship to operate on Slocan Lake

Slocan Lake

Slocan Lake is a lake in the Slocan Country of the West Kootenay region of the Southeastern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. it is drained by the Slocan River, which flows south from the lake's foot at Slocan City through the Slocan Valley to South Slocan, British Columbia, where that river...

. Two years later, he opened a store in Silverton. Hunter later opened a number of branch stores in the region. He was also involved in mining and served as a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 for Silverton. In 1901, he married Maggie Parsons.

Hunter ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1903 before being elected in 1907. He was reelected two more times, then was defeated by Charles Franklin Nelson when he ran for reelection in 1916, losing by one vote. In 1920, Hunter defeated Nelson to win the Slocan seat.

He died in Silverton at the age of 81.