Simeon Duck (December 1, 1834 – February 5, 1905) was a businessman and political figure in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He represented Victoria City in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

from 1871 to 1875, from 1882 to 1886 and from 1888 to 1890. He was born in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

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 William Duck and Mary Jackson, and left Ontario in 1859, arriving in British Columbia later that year by way of

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. After his arrival, Duck worked a claim in the mines on the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

. In the fall of that year, he established a wagon and

carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

factory in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. In 1865, he married Sarah Miller. Duck was defeated when he ran for reelection to the assembly in 1875. He served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Finance from 1885 to 1886. Duck was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1886 but was reelected in an 1888 by-election held after Edward Gawler Prior was elected to the Canadian House of Commons. He was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1890. Duck was a member of the Victoria volunteer fire department, serving in various positions including chief engineer. He was also a prominent member of the local Masonic lodge and was provincial grand master from 1874 to 1875. He died in Victoria at the age of 70.

References

1834 births 1905 deaths Businesspeople from St. Catharines Independent MLAs in British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Politicians from St. Catharines {{BritishColumbia-MLA-stub