William Edward O'Brien (March 10, 1831 – December 21, 1914) was a lawyer, farmer, editor and political figure in

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 ...

, Canada. He represented

Muskoka and Parry Sound Muskoka and Parry Sound was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1883 to 1904. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created from parts of Algoma and Muskoka ridings. It consisted ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1882 to 1896 as a

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 i ...

member. He was born in Thornhill,

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 the ...

, the son of Edward G. O'Brien, an immigrant from

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 ...

, and was educated at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

. In 1864, he married Elizabeth Loring, a descendant of

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...

Joshua Loring Joshua Loring (3 August 1716 – September 1781Charles Henry Pope''Loring Genealogy''(Cambridge, Mass., 1917), pp. 78-79) was an 18th-century colonial American naval officer in British service. During the French and Indian War, he served as a ...

. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1874. O'Brien was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat in the House of Commons in 1878. He was a lieutenant-colonel in the militia and commanded a regiment during the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a resistance by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of S ...

of 1885. In 1889, O'Brien introduced a motion in the House of Commons that the

Jesuit Estates Act The ''Jesuit Estates Act'' was an 1888 Act of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec that compensated the Society of Jesus for land confiscated in Canada by the British Crown after the suppression of the Society in 1774. When the revived Society retur ...

, which had been passed by the Quebec assembly, be struck down by the federal parliament; that motion was defeated.Quebecers, the Roman Catholic Church and the Manitoba School Question: A Chronology, Chronologies of Quebec History, Marionopolis College
/ref> He was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1896.

References

*
''The Canadian parliamentary companion, 1891'', AJ Gemmill
1831 births 1914 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs {{HistoricalConservative-Ontario-MP-stub