Donald Andrew Ross (April 10, 1857 – January 23, 1937) was a realtor, farmer and politician in
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
, Canada. He served in the
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...
from 1907 to 1920 and again from 1922 to 1927.
Early life and education
Ross was born in
Nairn
Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the tradit ...
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, the son of Donald Ross and Margaret Halbert. His grandfather was part of Duke Wellington's body guard at Waterloo, and was an escort to
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
on his exile to
St. Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...
. Ross was educated at Nairn Public School.
Career
Ross moved to Manitoba in 1874 where he worked on the first
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
line. In 1877, he established a real estate business. Ross served on the
Winnipeg City Council
The Winnipeg City Council (french: Conseil municipal de Winnipeg) is the governing body of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Council is seated in the Council Building of Winnipeg City Hall.
Ross first campaigned for the Manitoba legislature in the 1903 provincial election. He ran as an independent candidate in
Springfield
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
, and finished third against candidates of the
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
and
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
parties. In the 1907 election, he won the Liberal nomination and defeated Conservative candidate John Little by 181 votes. The Conservatives won this election, and Ross served on the opposition benches.
Ross was re-elected for Springfield in the 1910 election. In the 1914 election, he was returned for the redistributed constituency of St. Clements. In the 1915 campaign, he won election as an independent Liberal. The Liberals won a landslide majority in 1915, and Ross supported
Tobias Norris
Tobias Crawford Norris (September 5, 1861 – October 29, 1936) was a Canadian politician who served as the tenth premier of Manitoba from 1915 to 1922. Norris was a member of the Liberal Party.J. M. Bumsted"Tobias Crawford Norris" ''The Cana ...
's government in the legislature between 1915 and 1920. He lost his seat to
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
candidate
Matthew Stanbridge
Matthew James Stanbridge (1876, – May 20, 1939) was a British-born Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1920 to 1922.
Early life
Stanbridge was born in Worth Parish, Sussex, England a ...
in the election of 1920.
Ross was re-elected as an independent in the 1922 provincial election, defeating Stanbridge and two other candidates. He served as an opposition member for five years, and lost to Progressive candidate
Robert Hoey
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
in the 1927 election. The Liberals did not run candidates against Ross in either 1922 or 1927, and he may have remained informally aligned with the party in this period.