Walter Edward Foster (April 9, 1873 – November 14, 1947) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician and businessman 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 ...

Early life

Foster was born in St. Martins, New Brunswick. He began work as a clerk with the

Bank of New Brunswick The Bank of New Brunswick, established in 1820, was the first Canadian bank to operate under a charter. The bank operated independently in New Brunswick and later in Prince Edward Island until it merged with the Bank of Nova Scotia (now Scotiabank ...

at Saint John. He joined the merchant firm of Vassie and Company and became vice president and managing director after marrying Johanna Vassie, daughter of the firm's head. Active in community business affairs, Foster served as President of the Saint John

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in 1908–1909.

Political career

In 1916, Walter Foster became leader of the province's

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which swept to victory in the 1917 election. Foster was defeated in the

Saint John County Saint John County (2016 population: 74,020) is located in southern New Brunswick, Canada. The city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Saint John dominates the county. Elsewhere in the county, tourism is focused around the Bay of Fundy. Census sub ...

riding in the 1917 election but was elected to the Legislative Assembly by acclamation in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

later that year in

Victoria County Victoria County is the name of several locations: In Australia: *Victoria County, Western Australia * County of Victoria, South Australia In Canada: * Victoria County, New Brunswick * Municipality of the County of Victoria and the eponymous histo ...

. Though leader at age 45, he was called the "boy premier" for his youthful, cleancut appearance (Doyle). His government established the first

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in 1918, gave women the right to vote in 1919 and created the province's

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in 1920. Walter Foster resigned from provincial politics on February 1, 1923 in order to return to put his own failing personal finances in order. He entered federal politics becoming

Secretary of State of Canada The Secretary of State for Canada, established in 1867 with a corresponding department, was a Canadian Cabinet position that served as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London. Sco ...

in 1925, but failed to win a seat in that year's federal election. In 1928, Walter Foster was appointed by

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Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

to the

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and served as

Speaker of the Senate of Canada The speaker of the Senate of Canada (french: président du Sénat du Canada) is the presiding officer of the Senate of Canada. The speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of parliamentary procedure and parliamentar ...

from 1936 to 1940.

Personal life and death

Foster married Joanna Vassie in 1903. His son, Walter William Vassie Foster, served in the provincial Legislative Assembly. He died in office in Saint John at the age of 74 and was buried in the Cedar Hill Cemetery.

References

*
Government of New Brunswick biography (pdf)

Early life

Political career

Personal life and death

References

Further reading