Thomas Bunn (16 May 1830 – 11 April 1875) was a

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

lawyer, farmer, and politician in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. He represented St. Clements from 1870 to 1874 in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...

Personal life

Thomas Bunn was born on 16 May 1830 in the Red River Colony to John Bunn, a doctor and

councilor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

, and Catherine Thomas, both

. Bunn was educated at the

Red River Academy The Red River Academy (later St. John's College) in Manitoba, Canada, was established for the training and education of the sons of Hudson's Bay Company employees. It was founded in 1852 by Rev. David Jones. Many of the students were Indigenous. It ...

. In 1854, Bunn moved to the

Rural Municipality of St. Andrews St. Andrews is a rural municipality (RM) in Manitoba, Canada. It lies west of the Red River; its southern border is approximately north of Winnipeg. The communities of Clandeboye, Petersfield, and Lockport (the part west of the Red River) ...

and married Isabella Clouston, who died in 1857; the pair had two children. Bunn married again, in 1859, to Rachel Harriot and they had eight children. Two years later, he resettled in Mapleton. He was a farmer throughout his time in the Red River Colony. He was a member of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Bunn died on 11 April 1875. A road in St. Andrew's was named after Bunn and his former residence has been declared a provincial heritage site.

Public career

Bunn was a clerk for the

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

and Quarterly Court of Assiniboia from 1865 to 1869 and was then appointed to the council on January 1868. He became council's executive officer on 17 December 1869 and remained as such until the council was dissolved in 1870. Bunn hosted an open-air meeting to hear Donald Alexander Smith, as commissioner of the Canadian government to the Red River Colony, on 19 and 20 January 1870. Following the meeting, a committee was formed to organize the election of a convention to negotiate with the Canadian government. Bunn was named to that committee and, in the subsequent election, was made the English-speaking delegate of the

Rural Municipality of St. Clements St. Clements is a rural municipality in Manitoba, Canada. It is located to the north-east of Winnipeg, stretching from East St. Paul and Birds Hill Provincial Park in the south to Lake Winnipeg and Grand Beach Provincial Park to the north. The Re ...

(now Mapleton) to the Provisional Government of Manitoba. He held that post until 24 June 1870. The convention worked from 27 January to 3 February 1870 and created the Provisional Government, whose head of state, Louis Riel, named Bunn as secretary of state. Canadian military forces under Colonel Garnet Wolseley reached Fort Garry on 24 August 1870 and deposed the Provisional Government. Bunn survived the fall of the Provisional Government and began studying law. He was elected in December 1870 to the

in the province's first general election and

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1871. Bunn was made a clerk for Manitoba's First General Quarterly Court on 16 May 1871.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunn, Thomas 1830 births 1875 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Canadian Métis people Members of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia Métis politicians Members of the Council of Assiniboia