Matthew Munsel Howard (1794 – September 6, 1879) was a miller, farmer and political figure in

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 represented Leeds in the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Li ...

as a Reformer from 1830 to 1834 and in 1836. He was born in

, the son of Peter Howard and Sarah Munsell. Howard married Harriet Nichols. He lived in Yonge Township and then Elizabethtown Township. He served in the militia during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, later reaching the rank of captain. Howard was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1834 but was later elected in an 1836 by-election held after the results of the general election in Leeds were overturned due to violence at the polls.

Further reading