George Moffatt (August 13, 1787 – February 25, 1865) was a businessman and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

and

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

. Born in England, he emigrated to Lower Canada at the age of 14. He became involved in business in Montreal, including the fur trade. He was involved in the municipal politics of Montreal, and also was appointed to the

Legislative Council of Lower Canada The Legislative Council of Lower Canada was the upper house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The upper house consisted of appointed councillors who voted on bills passed up by the Legislative Assembly ...

. Following the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...

of 1837–1838, he was appointed to the

Executive Council of Lower Canada The Executive Council of Lower Canada was an appointive body created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. Its function was to advise the Governor or his representative on the administration of the colony's public affairs. It was replaced by the Execu ...

and the

Special Council of Lower Canada The Special Council of Lower Canada was an appointed body which administered Lower Canada until the Union Act of 1840 created the Province of Canada. Following the Lower Canada Rebellion, on March 27, 1838, the Constitutional Act of 1791 was su ...

, an appointed body that took the place of the provincial parliament. Following the union of Lower Canada with

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

Early life

Moffatt was born in Sidehead,

Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales. Th ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1787. After a brief period of studies in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Moffatt emigrated to

in 1801 at the age of 14, under the sponsorship of John Ogilvy. After further studies at William Henry (now Sorel), he joined Ogilvy's firm, which was part of the

XY Company The XY Company also known as the New North West Company was a joint-stock fur trading enterprise based in Montreal that conducted business chiefly in the Canadian Northwest between 1798 and 1804. fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

. He later joined McTavish, McGillivray and Company, part of a rival fur-trading company, the

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

.Gerald Tulchinsky, "Moffatt, George", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', Volume IX (1861-1870), University of Toronto / Université Laval.
/ref> Moffatt made various trips to the northwest as part of the fur trade. At one point he married an Indigenous woman in a common law relationship, by whom he had one son around 1809. Relationships of this type were common in the fur trading community, and were termed marriage ''à la façon du pays'' or "marriage according to the custom of the country". Moffatt brought his son, Lewis, back to Montreal with him. Lewis Moffatt became a well-respected businessman in

.Douglas McCalla, "Moffatt, Lewis", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', Volume XII (1891-1900), University of Toronto / Université Laval.
/ref> In 1816, Moffatt married Sophia MacRae in Montreal. The couple had three sons.

Gillespie, Moffatt, and Company

In 1811, he became a partner in a new firm, which eventually became Gillespie, Moffatt, and Company, a major supply house associated with the North West Company. He served in the Montreal militia during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. In 1815 and 1816, he helped Colin Robertson during his expeditions to the Athabaska country. Moffatt helped bring stability to the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

in Canada by helping to smooth the way for the merger of the North West Company and the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

in 1821. In the meantime, his company had expanded into a wider range of imports and exports, owning its own ship and opening a branch office in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. The company was also Canadian agents for the Phoenix Fire Assurance Company.

Political career

Moffatt served as a director of the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

from 1822 to 1835 and he was also involved in the development of railroads. In 1830, he was named to the

, serving until 1838. Following the

, Moffatt recommended moderation in dealing with the rebels and supported a union with

. He was named to the special council that governed the province after the rebellion. In 1841, he was elected to the

as one of two members for the city of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

as a Conservative member; he resigned in 1843 to protest the movement of the capital from Kingston to Montreal but was reelected in 1844. Although initially opposing the use of French in the assembly, he later supported a motion by

Denis-Benjamin Papineau Denis-Benjamin Papineau (November 13, 1789 – January 20, 1854) was joint premier of the Province of Canada for Canada East from 1846 to 1848. His joint premiers for Canada West during this period were William Henry Draper and Henry Sherwood. ...

to reinstate the use of French as an official language in parliament. Moffatt helped develop the harbour facilities at Montreal, serving as chairman of the harbour commission and was also president of the Montreal Board of Trade from 1844 to 1846. He was chairman of the short-lived British American League at Montreal, which developed in response to the annexation movement in Canada East.

Death

Moffatt died in Montreal in 1865.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moffatt, George 1787 births 1865 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Anglophone Quebec people Directors of Bank of Montreal Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Pre-Confederation Quebec people Businesspeople from Montreal Politicians from Montreal