The Reverend William Robertson Wood (June 6, 1874—?) was a Presbyterian minister and politician in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...

 from 1915 to 1920, as a member of the Liberal Party

Manitoba Liberal Party

The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...

.

Wood was born in Veira, Orkney, 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...

, and came to Canada in 1887. He was educated at Port Elgin

Port Elgin, Ontario

Port Elgin is a community in the Ontario municipality of Saugeen Shores. Close to MacGregor Point Provincial Park in Bruce County, the community has several beaches on Lake Huron....

 High School and Knox College

Knox College, University of Toronto

Knox College is a postgraduate theological college of the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1844 as part of a schism movement in the Church of Scotland following the Disruption...

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, graduating in 1904. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister, he served in Dumbarton, Ontario from 1904 to 1908, in Claremont, Ontario

Claremont, Ontario

Claremont is a Southern Ontario community located in the north part of the City of Pickering, Ontario, Canada.It is one of many rural villages with suburban type housing mixed with older, historic buildings in the Greater Toronto Area. Brock Road, the main north-south Regional road in the area was...

 from 1908 to 1913, and in Franklin, Manitoba

Franklin, Manitoba

Franklin is a rural municipality in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada. It is located in the southeastern part of the province, along the border with the state of Minnesota in the United States. The 2006 Census reported a population of 1,768 persons, a slight decrease from the 1,781...

 after 1913. He continued to work as a minister after winning election to the legislature. In 1919 Wood received a D.D. from Bates College

Bates College

Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...

.

He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1914 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1914

Manitoba's general election of July 10, 1914 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The result was a fifth consecutive majority government for the Conservative Party, led by premier Rodmond P. Roblin...

, losing to Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is the only right wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is also the official opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.-Origins and early years:...

 cabinet minister James H. Howden

James H. Howden

James Henry Howden was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a member of the Conservative Party from 1903 to 1915, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Rodmond P. Roblin....

 by 32 votes in the Birtle constituency. Howden did not seek re-election in the 1915 election

Manitoba general election, 1915

Manitoba's general election of August 6, 1915 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This election was held only one year after the previous general election of 1914. In that election, the governing Conservatives of premier Rodmond P. Roblin were...

, and Wood defeated his Conservative opponent J.H. Irwin by 197 votes. The Liberals won a landslide majority in this election, and Wood served as a backbench supporter of Tobias C. Norris's government.

He did not seek re-election in 1920.