Maitland Stewart McCarthy

Maitland Stewart McCarthy KC (February 5, 1872 – May 17, 1930) was a politician, lawyer and judge from western Canada.

Maitland Stewart McCarthy KC
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Calgary
In office November 3, 1904 – September 20, 1911
Preceded by	New District
Succeeded by	R. B. Bennett
Justice of the Supreme Court of Alberta
In office July 11, 1914 – May 3, 1926
Personal details
Born	(1872-02-05)February 5, 1872 Orangeville, Ontario, Canada
Died	May 17, 1930(1930-05-17) (aged 58) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Trinity College

Born in Orangeville, Ontario, he was the son of Thomas Anthony Maitland McCarthy, a county court judge, and Jennie Frances Stewart. He studied at Trinity College School in Port Hope and Trinity University, receiving a LLB in 1896. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1897 and set up practice in Sarnia.

Marriage/Relocation

In 1900, he married Eva Florence Watson. McCarthy moved to Calgary, then part of the Northwest Territories, in 1903. He was admitted to the bar and set up practice in Calgary with William L. Walsh.

Politics

Maitland was elected Calgary's first direct member of the House of Commons of Canada after the redistribution prior to the 1904 federal election gave Calgary its first direct seat. He was re-elected to a second term in the 1908 Canadian federal election.

Maitland was offered leadership of the provincial Conservative Party prior to the 1909 Alberta general election, but declined the offer of leadership as he would have to resign his federal seat which he won in a controversial election in 1908, and felt the resignation would be seen as an admission of guilt.

Electoral record

1904 Canadian federal election: Calgary
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Maitland Stewart McCarthy	2,993
	Liberal	Charles John Stewart	2,545

1908 Canadian federal election: Calgary
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Maitland Stewart McCarthy	4,105
	Liberal	Charles John Stewart	3,418
	Socialist	Frank Henry Sherman	743

Post-politics

After leaving politics, he returned to the practice of law. McCarthy was named King's Counsel in 1913 and, in 1914, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Alberta. In 1926, he retired from the bench due to health problems.

Death

McCarthy died while on vacation in Montreal in 1930, aged 58.

References

Works cited

• Thomas, Lewis Gwynne (1959). The Liberal Party in Alberta. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-5083-0.

External links

• Maitland Stewart McCarthy – Parliament of Canada biography
• "Maitland Stewart McCarthy". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.