William Proudfoot, (February 21, 1859 – December 3, 1922) was an

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politician and barrister. He was born in

Colborne Township Colborne may refer to: Places *Colborne, Norfolk County, Ontario *Colborne, Northumberland County, Ontario *Colborne Parish, New Brunswick Other uses

*Colborne (surname), a surname {{disambiguation, geo ...

, Huron County,

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, the son of Robert Proudfoot, an immigrant from

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. He was educated in Goderich, studied law at

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgoode, ...

and was called to the bar in 1880. Proudfoot set up practice in Goderich. He married Marion F. Dickson in 1886. In 1902, he was named

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

. In 1908 he was elected to the

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as 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 ...

. He was re-elected in 1911 and 1914. In 1917, he was chosen leader of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and, as such, became

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in the legislature. Proudfoot was challenged as Liberal leader at the party's first

leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, leaders of a party generally rem ...

in June 1919 and was replaced by

Hartley Dewart Herbert Hartley Dewart QC (9 November 1861 – 7 July 1924) was an Ontario lawyer and politician. Early life and education Dewart was born in St. Johns, Canada East, on 9 November 1861. His father was Edward Hartley Dewart, an Irish Met ...

. The 1919 election saw the Liberals and their allies drop from 30 seats to 27 with Proudfoot himself defeated in his riding of Huron Centre by the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate. No doubt due to Newton Rowell's influence, he was then appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

where he sat until his death in 1922.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Proudfoot, William 1859 births 1922 deaths Canadian senators from Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party Canadian King's Counsel