Robert Stewart (Canadian politician)

Robert Stewart (April 7, 1850 – April 10, 1925) was a Canadian politician.

Robert Stewart
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Ottawa
In office
1904–1908
Serving with Napoléon Belcourt
Preceded byThomas Birkett
Succeeded byWilfrid Laurier
Thomas Birkett
Personal details
Born(1850-04-07)April 7, 1850
Ottawa, Canada West
DiedApril 10, 1925(1925-04-10) (aged 75)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal

He was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of William Stewart and Sarah Jane Donaldson, migrants from Northern Ireland. Stewart was educated in Ottawa's public school system along with his brothers, J.K., William and Samuel, and continued to take an active interest in the school system's development throughout his life.[1] An insurance and general agent with his firm R. Stewart & Son, he was an alderman on the Ottawa City Council, where he was said to have "represented the city's monied classes,"[2] and was president and treasurer of the YMCA. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Liberal member for Ottawa in the 1904 federal election that returned a third straight majority for Liberal Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier.[3] He resigned the riding in 1908 shortly before that year's general election.

In 1877, Stewart married Mary Louisa Howard Sharp. He died in Ottawa at the age of 75.[4]

He is unrelated to the formerly prominent Ottawa family of William Stewart, who owned a large portion of The Glebe and who was father of Ottawa mayor McLeod Stewart, a contemporary of Robert on the Ottawa City Council.

References

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  1. ^ Obituary of Mrs. William Stewart in the Perth Courier, 9 October 1896.
  2. ^ Mullington, D. (2005). Chain of Office: Biographical Sketches of the Early Mayors of Ottawa. Renfrew: Ontario General Store Publishing House. ISBN 1-897113-17-X.
  3. ^ The Canadian Parliament; biographical sketches and photo-engravures of the senators and members of the House of Commons of Canada. Being the tenth Parliament, elected November 3, 1904
  4. ^ Johnson, J.K. (1968). The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967. Public Archives of Canada.
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