Robert Spence (1811 – February 25, 1868) was a journalist 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 was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1811 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 ...

in 1836. He taught school in Dundas. In 1846, he launched a newspaper, the ''Dundas Warder and Halton County General Advertiser''. He helped promote the incorporation of Dundas as a town and served on the town council. In 1858, he was elected warden for the United Counties of Wentworth and Halton. In 1854, he was elected to the

5th Parliament of the Province of Canada The 5th Parliament of the Province of Canada was summoned in August 1854, following the general election for the Legislative Assembly in July 1854. The number of seats in the Assembly had been increased by the 4th Parliament of the Province of Ca ...

representing Wentworth as an independent. He became

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government official ...

in 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 ...

and

Augustin-Norbert Morin Augustin-Norbert Morin (; October 13, 1803 – July 27, 1865) was a Canadien journalist, lawyer, politician, and rebel in Lower Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in the 1830s, as a leading member of the '' ...

. His acceptance of a cabinet post stirred up resentment among the

Clear Grits Clear Grits were reformers in the Canada West district of the Province of Canada, a British colony that is now the Province of Ontario, Canada. Their name is said to have been given by George Brown, who said that only those were wanted in the p ...

and he was not re-elected. He introduced reduced rates for mailing newspapers and other improvements to the postal service. In 1857, he was appointed collector of customs at

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 ...

. He died in Toronto in 1868.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Robert 1811 births 1868 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario