William Pugsley (September 27, 1850 – March 3, 1925) was a politician and lawyer 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 ...

, Canada.

Biography

He was born in Sussex, New Brunswick, the son of William Pugsley, 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 du ...

descent, and Frances Jane Hayward. He was educated at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Ameri ...

. He studied mathematics, classics, and English and was awarded many scholarships. In his junior year he was the gold medallist of his class. He went on to study law, was admitted to the bar in 1872 and set up practice in Saint John. The

awarded him a BCL in 1879 and would confer honorary degrees of DCL in 1884 and LL.D in 1918. Pugsley was created a QC on 4 February 1891. Pugsley, a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

, Solicitor-General and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in various Liberal governments before becoming the 11th

premier of New Brunswick The premier of New Brunswick ( French (masculine): ''premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'', or feminine: ''première ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. T ...

in 1907. He resigned in September of that year to become minister of public works in the federal Liberal government of Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

. He served in that position until the government's defeat in the 1911 federal election, but remained as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) until 1917 when he was appointed the 15th

lieutenant governor of New Brunswick The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the viceregal representative in New Brunswick of the , who operates distinctly wit ...

. When his term ended in 1923, he was appointed to a federal position in charge of settling war claims, and held that position until his death. Pugsley was staying at King Edward Hotel when he fell ill and died of pneumonia 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 anch ...

in 1925. He was buried in the Fernhill Cemetery in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of K ...

Electoral record

References

*
Biography, Government of New Brunswick

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pugsley, William 1850 births 1925 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Lieutenant Governors of New Brunswick Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Lawyers in New Brunswick Canadian King's Counsel People from Kings County, New Brunswick Premiers of New Brunswick Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick University of New Brunswick alumni University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law alumni