William Kirkpatrick McNaught (September 6, 1845 – February 2, 1919) was an

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 ...

manufacturer and political figure. He represented

Toronto North Toronto North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1925. It was located in the city of Toronto in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1903 from parts of Toronto Centre, West To ...

in the

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from 1906 to 1914 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.

Background

He was born in Fergus,

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 ...

, the son of John and Sarah McNaught who were

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

immigrants. He attended schools in

Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...

and also the Bryant and Stratton Commercial College in Toronto. He worked at a hardware store in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and then apprenticed in jewelry and silverware wholesale before establishing a jewelry wholesale company with a partner. In 1873, he married Caroline Eliza Lugsden. McNaught later became president of the American Watch Glass Company of Toronto. He also served as president of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association and was president for the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, ...

from 1901 to 1905. In 1866 he enlisted in the Queen's Own Rifles where he participated in the Fenian Raids. He rose to the rank of Color-Sergeant. He later joined the 12th York Rangers as a lieutenant. By 1914 he had risen to the rank of Colonel and he offered his services to the war office at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Being too old to serve overseas, he worked in various roles at the headquarters in Ottawa involving land transportation, recruitment and outfitting of new units including the 109th Toronto militia regiment and the 84th and 169th overseas battalions. He was appointed C.M.G. in the

1914 Birthday Honours The 1914 Birthday Honours were appointments in the British Empire of King George V to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens. The appointments were made to celeb ...

Politics

McNaught was elected in a by-election after his predecessor William Nesbitt resigned. He defeated the Liberal candidate

Thomas Urquhart Sir Thomas Urquhart (1611–1660) was a Scottish aristocrat, writer, and translator. He is best known for his translation of the works of French Renaissance writer François Rabelais to English. Biography Urquhart was born to Thomas Urquhart ...

who was the mayor of Toronto by 1,301 votes. He was re-elected in 1908 along with John Shaw when the riding started electing two members. He remained in office until 1914.

Toronto North election results

Toronto North (Seat A) election results

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* *
Canadian Literary and Art Archives - William K. McNaught. Special Collections
(pdf) {{DEFAULTSORT:McNaught, William Kirkpatrick 1845 births 1919 deaths Canadian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People from Centre Wellington Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Canadian colonels