Martin Burrell (October 19, 1858 – March 20, 1938) was a Canadian politician. Born in

Faringdon Faringdon is a historic market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, south-west of Oxford, north-west of Wantage and east-north-east of Swindon. It extends to the River Thames in the north; the highest ground is on the Ridg ...

, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), Burrell emigrated to Canada as a young man, where he eventually became a fruit grower on a farm about two miles east of

Grand Forks, British Columbia Grand Forks, population 4,112, is a city in the Boundary Country of the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Granby and Kettle Rivers, a tributary of the Columbia River. The city is just nort ...

. His farm was the largest apple tree nursery in the province. He was elected mayor of

in 1903. He first ran unsuccessfully for the House of Commons of Canada as 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 in ...

candidate in the 1904 federal election for the constituency of

Yale—Cariboo Yale–Cariboo was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1896 to 1917. This riding was created in 1896 by combining the former Yale and Cariboo ridings. A redist ...

. He was elected in the 1908 federal election and re-elected in

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

. In

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...

he was re-elected as a Unionist. Burrell served as the

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

in the Borden government from 1911 to 1917, and from 1917 to 1919, as Secretary of State of Canada and Minister of Mines. From 1919 to 1920, he was the Minister of Customs and Inland Revenue. He also helped secure the departure of the

Komagata Maru was a cargo steamship that was built in Scotland in 1890, was in German ownership until 1913, and then had a succession of Japanese owners until she was wrecked in 1926. She was launched as ''Stubbenhuk'', renamed ''Sicilia'' in 1894, ''Komaga ...

, against those mistreating the passengers and prolonging the departure date. A fire damaged the Parliament Buildings in 1917, and Burrell was badly injured in it. From that time he filled the position of librarian for the

Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament (french: Bibliothèque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Otta ...

. After leaving politics, he remained in Ottawa and kept the position of Parliamentary Librarian until his death in 1938. He is buried in Beechwood Cemetery. Burrell Creek near

, is named in his honour.

External links

Serving Agriculture: Canada's Ministers of Agriculture
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Burrell Creek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrell, Martin 1858 births 1938 deaths English emigrants to Canada Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Unionist Party (Canada) MPs People from Faringdon Boundary Country Parliamentary Librarians of Canada