Sir Matthew Crooks Cameron, (2 October 1822 – 25 June 1887) was a politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. He was a

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 ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1878. He represented the riding of Toronto East. He served in the cabinet of the first

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 ...

John Sandfield Macdonald John Sandfield Macdonald, (December 12, 1812 – June 1, 1872) was the joint premier of the Province of Canada from 1862 to 1864. He was also the first premier of Ontario from 1867 to 1871, one of the four founding provinces created at Con ...

. After Macdonald's defeat in 1871, he became leader of the Conservative Party and served as

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

until his retirement from politics in 1878. After the legislature, he served as Chief Justice of the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

until his death in 1887. In 1887 he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...

Background

He was born in Dundas in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of 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 t ...

, during his studies at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, Single-sex education, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious University-prep ...

, he lost one leg after a shooting accident. Cameron later articled in law, was called to the bar in 1849 and entered practice with William Henry Boulton in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, Ontario. He was created a QC on 27 March 1863, and elected a bencher of the

Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) 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; frenc ...

in April 1871. In 1887, he was created a

shortly before his death.

Politics

In 1861, 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 legislature 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 Uppe ...

for North

; he was defeated in 1863 but was elected in an 1864 by-election when the incumbent, William McDougall, was forced to run for re-election after he was named to the executive council. Cameron was opposed to

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

, preferring a legislative union. In 1867, he ran unsuccessfully in Ontario North in the federal election but was elected for Toronto East to the provincial legislature. Cameron entered the

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in 1867 as

Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Ontario The Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Ontario was a senior position in the provincial cabinet of Ontario from before Canadian Confederation until the 1960s. The Provincial Secretary and Registrar was originally the second highest position ...

. In 1871, he became Commissioner of Crown Lands. With the defeat of the Macdonald government in the provincial election that December, Cameron became leader of the Ontario Conservative Party, but stepped down in 1878 to accept the appointment of Chief Justice of the

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Matthew Crooks 1822 births 1887 deaths Canadian Knights Bachelor Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian King's Counsel Judges in Ontario Lawyers in Ontario Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West People from Dundas, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Provincial Secretaries of Ontario Upper Canada College alumni