George Roy McWilliam (July 21, 1905 – May 15, 1977) was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

in the

Canadian House of Commons The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicam ...

for the constituency of Northumberland—Miramichi in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

from 1949 until 1968. He was a resident of Newcastle, New Brunswick for most of his life, where he was the publisher and editor of the '' North Shore Leader'', a local weekly newspaper.

Early life

McWilliam was born in Sydney,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Political career

McWilliam was a

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 ...

and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the

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from 1963 to 1964 and to the

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from 1964 to 1965. McWilliam served as MP through the middle of a long period of Liberal ascendancy in the

Miramichi Valley The Miramichi Valley is a Canadian river valley and region in the east-central part of New Brunswick. It extends along both major branches of the Miramichi River and their tributaries, however it is generally agreed that the much larger Southw ...

. The coalition that sustained the Liberal Party was centered on the

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vote, especially from the town of Chatham where they formed the majority, buttressed by the votes of the Irish minority in Newcastle, and the smaller Irish villages like St. Margarets,

Barnaby River The Barnaby River is a tributary of the Miramichi River in New Brunswick, Canada. The Barnaby River rises in southern Northumberland County, close to the Kent County, New Brunswick boundary and flows north and west into the south side of the Sout ...

and Sevogle. Added to this were the votes of the French-speaking

Acadians The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

Neguac Neguac is a Canadian village in Northumberland County, New Brunswick. Geography Situated on the north shore of Miramichi Bay at the southern end of the Acadian Peninsula, the village is located 44 kilometres northeast of Miramichi. Approxima ...

, Rogersville, Beaverbrook and Baie-Sainte-Anne and surrounding areas. The majority of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

s voted Progressive Conservative, but there were always a minority who supported the Liberals. Although Catholics generally supported the Liberal Party, the Irish Catholic clergy did not generally involve themselves in politics.

Personal life

Roy McWilliam's sister was the noted Miramichi historian Edith McAllister.

Electoral record

External links

* 1905 births 1977 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick People from Miramichi, New Brunswick {{NewBrunswick-politician-stub