William John Blair (October 13, 1875 – April 24, 1943) was a Canadian engineer, farmer, teacher, soldier surveyor and federal politician from Alberta.

Early life

William John Blair was born in Embro, Ontario on October 13, 1875 to John Blair, and his wife Ellen Smyth, both of Irish descent. Blair took his post secondary education at

Woodstock College Woodstock College was a Jesuit seminary that existed from 1869 to 1974. It was the oldest Jesuit seminary in the United States. The school was located in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore, from its establishment until 1969, when it moved to ...

and later the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

where he completed a

Bachelor of Applied Science The Bachelor of Applied Science, often abbreviated as B.AS., BAS, BSAS, BASc, B.A.Sc., or BAppSc, is an undergraduate degree. There are also ''Bachelor of Arts and Science'' and ''Bachelor of Administration Science'' undergraduate degrees, also a ...

in Civil Engineering. He began surveying in 1904 in Ontario and using his knowledge to Steak mining property which he later sold. He married his wife Lottie May Nethercott in 1906 and they had one daughter and one son. He moved his family west to

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

in 1910 and continued his survey work.

Early political work

Blair first served in public office on the municipal level, for one term he served as Mayor of

New Liskeard, Ontario Temiskaming Shores is a city in the Timiskaming District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It was created by the amalgamation of the town of New Liskeard, the town of Haileybury, and the township of Dymond in 2004. The city had a total population ...

from 1907 to 1908. After Blair moved out west he attempted a career at Alberta provincial politics. He ran for a seat in the Alberta Legislature by running as the

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 in ...

candidate in the

ministerial by-election A ministerial by-election is a by-election to fill a vacancy triggered by the appointment of the sitting member of parliament (MP) as a minister in the cabinet. The requirement for new ministers to stand for re-election was introduced in the Ho ...

held on May 27, 1912 in the Sedgewick district. He was soundly defeated by incumbent Minister of Municipal Affairs Charles Stewart.

Military service

Blair enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1916, becoming a recruiter for the 151st Battalion, a role he held until 1917.

Federal politics

Blair would try his hand at federal politics running as the Unionist candidate in the 1917 Canadian federal election. He won the election, defeating Laurier Liberal candidate and future Member of Parliament Daniel Webster Warner in a hotly contested election. Blair would serve in the House of Commons for one term before retiring from federal politics.

Late life and death

In 1925 Blair became very ill and moved his family to Barrie, Ontario he would spend the next 5 years recovering his health, moving back to Alberta in 1930. In 1937 he contracted

Thrombosis Thrombosis (from Ancient Greek "clotting") is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel (a vein or an artery) is injured, the body uses platelets (t ...

and his family moved back to Ontario once again. He withdrew himself from public life and died April 24, 1943.

References

External links

Alberta Land Surveying History William John Blair biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, William 1875 births 1943 deaths University of Toronto alumni Unionist Party (Canada) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Canadian Expeditionary Force officers People from Temiskaming Shores Mayors of places in Ontario