William Walker (c. 1790 – May 18, 1863) was a merchant in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

who served on the

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as ...

. He was born in Scotland, and arrived in Lower Canada in 1815. He was the agent in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

of the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

firm Forsyth, Richardson and Company. In 1821, he went into business with

James Bell Forsyth James Bell Forsyth (25 December 1802 – 1 April 1869), was a prominent Quebec merchant and author. In 1831, he built the Cataraqui Estate in Sillery, on Saint-Louis Road. Background Born at Kingston, Upper Canada, he was the second son ...

to form Forsyth, Walker and Company, associated with the Montreal company. The company operated until 1836, working in shipping, insurance, real estate speculation and acting as the exclusive agent of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. He was named an administrator of the Quebec City Trinity House in 1824 and was deputy master in 1827. He was president of the Chamber of Commerce of Quebec City from 1841 to 1848. In 1849 and 1850 he was president of the Quebec City branch of the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

. He also headed two insurance companies, a natural gas company, and a railroad. He was chancellor of Bishop's College in

Lennoxville, Quebec Lennoxville is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lennoxvi ...

. From 1838 to 1841, he participate in the first and third sessions of the

Special Council of Lower Canada The Special Council of Lower Canada was an appointed body which administered Lower Canada until the Union Act of 1840 created the Province of Canada. Following the Lower Canada Rebellion, on March 27, 1838, the Constitutional Act of 1791 was susp ...

. In 1842 he was appointed to the

and remained a member until his death. He was the brother-in-law of Edward Greive.

External links

* 1790 births 1863 deaths Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Academic staff of Bishop's University Canadian university and college chancellors Immigrants to Lower Canada {{Quebec-politician-stub