Michael Hamilton Foley (1820 – April 8, 1870) was a lawyer and political figure in

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

. He was born in

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1820 and came to

Port Colborne Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed afte ...

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 th ...

with his parents in 1822. He began work as a school teacher but later worked as a journalist on several newspapers while studying law. He was called to the bar in 1851. In 1854, he was elected to the 5th Parliament of the Province of Canada representing North Waterloo as a Reformer; he was reelected in 1857. In 1858, he was chosen to be postmaster general. Originally, he aligned himself with

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

; he later opposed Brown, supporting John Sandfield Macdonald as a moderate Reformer. Later, under pressure from his constituents, he supported Brown's proposals in support of restructuring the union. In 1861, he was elected in both North Waterloo and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

; he chose to represent Perth. However, he was appointed postmaster general in 1861 and chose to rerun in North Waterloo. In 1863, he was reelected as an independent Reformer. In 1864, he was appointed postmaster general, but was defeated in the resulting by-election. Although he ran for office both federally and provincially in 1867, he was unsuccessful. He died in

Simcoe, Ontario Simcoe is an unincorporated community and former town in Southwestern Ontario, Canada near Lake Erie. It is the county seat and largest community of Norfolk County. Simcoe is at the junction of Highway 3, at Highway 24, due south of Brantford ...

in 1870.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley. Michael Foley, Michael Hamilton Foley, Michael Hamilton Foley, Michael Foley, Michael Hamilton Foley, Michael Hamilton Foley, Michael Hamilton Foley, Michael Hamilton Immigrants to Upper Canada