Sir Adam Wilson (September 22, 1814 – December 28, 1891) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

. He served as mayor of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1859 and 1860 and in 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 ...

for York North from 1860 to 1863. After his political career, he served as a judge and was named Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving judge in Ontario and was subsequently knighted.

Early life and career

Adam Wilson was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland in 1814 to Jane and Andrew Wilson. He attended Heriot’s Hospital in Edinburgh before immigrating to Halton County,

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

in 1830 to work with his uncle. In 1834, he moved to Toronto where he articled for Robert Baldwin and Robert Baldwin Sullivan and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1839. The following year, he was made partner at the Baldwin law firm. In 1850, he became

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

and in 1856 he was named to a commission whose work formed the basis for the General Public Statutes of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

. In 1858 he was a founding member of the North-West Transportation, Navigation and Railway Company. He also sued Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and two other ministers in 1858 for illegally keeping their political positions.

Municipal politics

Wilson was elected to Toronto city council in 1855, representing St. Patrick’s Ward. He led a group of councillors who were against the influence of the railway companies in council decisions. He also organised an investigation on how Casimir Gzowski won a contract to construct the Esplanade. Wilson was encouraged to run in the 1859 mayoral election of Toronto by the Municipal Reform Association, a Reform group who opposed the Conservative dominance of Toronto municipal politics. His campaign focused on the railway business’ influence over alderman’s decisions on council. His concerns included the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

putting trains between residents and

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

and the pollution that accumulated in various water sources along the Toronto waterfront. Wilson won the 1859 mayoral election in Toronto’s first direct election for mayor and won a subsequent campaign for mayor in 1860. His time in office included an initiative to simplify the city’s by-laws, which the Canadian Law Journal cited as an “indescribable confusion.” He also focused on police reform and was a member of the Toronto Board of Police Commissioners when they fired the deputy police chief of Toronto.

Politics in the Legislative Assembly

Wilson was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

in an 1860 by-election in the riding of York North. The following year he was reelected in his York North riding but lost his simultaneous election in the riding of Toronto West. In May 1862 he became Solicitor General for Upper Canada but was not reappointed the following year.

Judicial career

Wilson resigned from politics in 1863 and was named a judge in the Court of Queen's Bench. He was part of the Court of Common Pleas and was an ex-officio judge of Error and Appeal until 1874. In 1871 he was appointed to the Ontario Law Reform Commission. In 1878, Wilson became chief justice in the Court of Common Pleas and, in 1884, was named to the same function in the Court of Queen's Bench. In 1876 Wilson claimed that

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * Ge ...

wrote a letter “for corrupt purposes” and that Reform engaged in corrupt practices during previous elections. Brown was asked to answer this letter in front of judges in a “contempt of court” charge. The judges in this case disagreed on their findings and there were no further proceedings. In his rulings, Wilson would bring together applicable precedents but have little analysis of how they worked together to come to a conclusion. He also cited American law and tried to show independence from British law. He was also credited with the huge amount of research that he conducted for his rulings.

Writing career

In 1861 Wilson wrote ''The constable’s guide; a sketch of the office of constable''.

Honours and achievements

At his retirement Wilson was the longest-serving judge in Ontario. He was also

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. Wilson Township in

Parry Sound District Parry Sound District is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its boundaries are District of Muskoka to the south, the Sudbury District to the north-northwest, the French River and Lake Nipissing in the north, Nipissing Distri ...

, Ontario is named after him.

Personal life and death

Wilson married Emma Dalton on May 1, 1841, and adopted a daughter. He died in Toronto on December 28, 1891.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Adam 1814 births 1891 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in Ontario Judges in Ontario Canadian Knights Bachelor Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Mayors of Toronto Politicians from Edinburgh People from the Regional Municipality of Halton Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Canadian King's Counsel Immigrants to Upper Canada People educated at George Heriot's School