Archibald McKellar (3 February 1816 – 11 February 1894) was briefly leader of Canada's

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...

from 1867 to 1868 and, unofficially, the first

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

in Ontario's new provincial legislature (though he was not officially recognised as such) and went on to serve as Commissioner of Public Works in Ontario

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Oliver Mowat Sir Oliver Mowat (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1903) was a Canadians, Canadian lawyer, politician, and Ontario Liberal Party leader. He served for nearly 24 years as the third premier of Ontario. He was the eighth lieutenant governor of Ontario ...

's first government. He was born in

Inveraray Inveraray ( or ; meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Located on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, Inveraray is a former royal burgh and known affectionately as "The Capital of Argyll." It is the ...

, Scotland in 1816 and came to

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 ...

with his parents in 1817. He helped on the family farm in Kent County and was also part owner of a large

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

at Chatham. He served in the militia during the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...

. McKellar later moved to Chatham where he served on the town council and was also reeve from 1856 to 1857. He married Lucy McNab in 1836 but widowed in 1857. In 1857, he 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 ...

for Kent and he served until

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. He was defeated by Rufus Stephenson when he ran in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

in the 1867 election, but he was elected to the

1st Parliament of Ontario The 1st Parliament of Ontario was in session from September 3, 1867, until February 25, 1871, just prior to the 1871 Ontario general election, 1871 general election. This was the first session of the Legislature after Confederation succeeding t ...

for

Bothwell Bothwell () is a Protected area, conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland and part of the Greater Glasgow area. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton, ...

in 1867 and 1871. He married a second to Mary Catherine Powell in 1874. He was elected in the new district of Kent East in 1875. However, the opposition had accused him of taking advantage of his position to award contracts to his friends. Although he was cleared of any wrongdoing, he retired from politics in 1875 and was appointed sheriff in Wentworth County. He died in Hamilton in 1894. The township of McKellar 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 ...

was named in his honour.

Electoral history

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1816 births 1894 deaths Canadian Presbyterians Leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament Candidates in the 1867 Canadian federal election 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario {{Liberal-Ontario-MPP-stub