John Hillyard Cameron, (April 14, 1817 – November 14, 1876) was an

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

lawyer, businessman and political figure. He was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament representing

Peel Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community in Peel Parish * Pee ...

from 1867 to 1872 and Cardwell from 1872 until his death. He was born in

Blendecques Blendecques (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography The town is situated 3 miles (5 km) south of Saint-Omer, at the junction of the D77, D210 and D211 roads. The river ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1817. His father was a soldier in the 79th Highlanders who served in France during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. In 1825, he came with his family to

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

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 ...

. He studied at

Kilkenny College Kilkenny College is a Church of Ireland co-educational day and boarding secondary school located in Kilkenny, in the South-East of Ireland. It is the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland. In 2013 it transferred to the state/public se ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

. He then studied law with

Henry John Boulton Henry John Boulton, (1790 – June 18, 1870) was a lawyer and political figure in Upper Canada and the Province of Canada, as well as Chief Justice of Newfoundland. Boulton began his legal career under the tutelage of John Beverly Robins ...

. 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 ...

, he served with the

Queen's Rangers The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalists fighting in the American Revolution, Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War that specialized in cavalry tactics, clo ...

. In 1839, he was called to the bar in Upper Canada and entered a law practice in

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 ...

, Ontario. In 1846, he became a

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 ...

. Cameron also served on Toronto city council from 1846 to 1847, from 1851 to 1852 and 1854 to 1855. In 1860, he served as treasurer for the

Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; ), its name was changed by statu ...

. In 1869, he was also called to the Quebec bar. In 1846, he was chosen as solicitor general for Upper Canada and was elected to the

2nd Parliament of the Province of Canada The 2nd Parliament of the Province of Canada was summoned in 1844, following the general elections for the Legislative Assembly in October 1844. It first met on November 28, 1844. It was dissolved in December 1847. All sessions were held at Mon ...

in a by-election for

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. In 1847, he was appointed to the Executive Council. He served in the Legislative Assembly 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 ...

, except for the 4th and 6th parliaments, when he did not run. He supported representation by population and opposed the introduction of an elected

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. In 1856, he helped stir up controversy in the wake of the death of Robert Corrigan in

Lotbinière, Quebec Lotbinière () is a municipality (Quebec), municipality in Lotbinière Regional County Municipality in Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Chaudière-Appalaches region and the population was 855 as of the Canada 2021 Census. It is named after the ...

; this helped undermine the government of

Allan MacNab Sir Allan Napier MacNab, 1st Baronet (19 February 1798 – 8 August 1862) was a Canadian political leader, land speculator and property investor, lawyer, soldier, and militia commander who served in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada t ...

which led to the rise of Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (10 or 11January 18156June 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He was the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, and had a political ...

as leader of the Conservatives. He supported

but would have preferred a legislative union. He was elected to represent Peel in the House of Commons in 1867. In 1872, he ran in both Peel and Cardwell, being elected in the latter. He was a director of the Toronto and Guelph Railway, which was later absorbed by 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 ...

, helped found the

Canada Life Assurance Company The Canada Life Assurance Company (French language, French: ''La Compagnie d'Assurance du Canada sur la Vie''), commonly known as Canada Life (''Canada-Vie''), is a Canadian insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipe ...

in 1847, was president of the Provincial Insurance Company and chairman of the board in Canada of the Edinburgh Life Insurance Company. He was also involved in the incorporation of a number of companies in the Toronto area including the Western Assurance Company in 1851 and the Toronto and Georgian Bay Canal Company in 1856. He suffered extensive financial losses near the end of 1857 as a result of a financial panic and economic depression; he promised to make good on his debts, which left him financially strained for the remainder of his life. He was a loyal follower of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and tried to defend its interests, including the revenue from the

clergy reserves Clergy reserves were tracts of land in Upper Canada and Lower Canada reserved for the support of "Protestant clergy" by the Constitutional Act 1791. One-seventh of all surveyed Crown lands were set aside, totaling and respectively for each provin ...

. He served on the council of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, an Anglican university at the time; he also was a professor of law at the college and served as chancellor from 1863 until his death. In 1856, he joined the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

and served as grand master in Canada from 1859 to 1870. He suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and died while in Toronto in 1876.

Footnotes

References

External links

J. Hillyard Cameron fonds
Archives of Ontario {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, John Hillyard 1817 births 1876 deaths Politicians from Pas-de-Calais French emigrants Immigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Upper Canada College alumni Treasurers of the Law Society of Upper Canada Lawyers in Ontario Canadian King's Counsel Immigrants to Upper Canada 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada