John Gillies (Canadian politician)
John Gillies | |
|---|---|
| Ontario MPP | |
| In office 1883–1886 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Sinclair |
| Succeeded by | John Walter Scott Biggar |
| Constituency | Bruce North |
| Member of Parliament for Bruce North | |
| In office 1872–1882 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander Sproat |
| Succeeded by | Alexander McNeill |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1837 |
| Died | 10 December 1889 (aged 52) |
| Party | Liberal |
| Occupation | Farmer |
John Gillies (c. 1837 – 10 December 1889) was an Ontario farmer and political figure. He represented Bruce North in the House of Commons of Canada from 1872 to 1882 and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1883 to 1886 as a Liberal.
He was born in Kilcalmonell, Argyll, Scotland, the son of Hugh Gillies and Mary Blue,[1] and came to Canada West in 1852,[2] settling near Paisley.[3] Gillies was reeve for Elderslie Township from 1857 to 1873 and warden for Bruce County in 1863 and from 1869 to 1872.[3] He also served as a major in the local militia.
Parliamentary Career
In the 1872 dominion election, Gilles contested North Bruce and defeated incumbent Conservative MP Alexander Sproat by a margin of 23. (Sproat won the seat in the first post confederation election 10 votes.) Gillies was returned in 1874 by acclamation, and defeated Sproat again in 1878 by a more comfortable margin of 156 votes (out of over 3000). He was however defeated in 1882, a loss Gilles attributed to the gerrymandering in the 1882 redistribution (which came to light over a decade later in 1899[4])
| 1872 Canadian federal election: Bruce North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | John Gillies | 974 | ||||||
| Conservative | Alexander Sproat | 951 | ||||||
| Source: Canadian Elections Database[5] | ||||||||
| 1874 Canadian federal election: Bruce North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | John Gillies | acclaimed | ||||||
| 1878 Canadian federal election: Bruce North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | John Gillies | 1,705 | ||||||
| Conservative | Alexander Sproat | 1,549 | ||||||
| Source: Canadian Elections Database[6] | ||||||||
| 1882 Canadian federal election: Bruce North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Alexander McNeill | 1,250 | ||||||
| Liberal | John Gillies[7] | 1,162 | ||||||
In the Ontario provincial election the following year, Gillies contested the provincial district of Bruce North, which kept the original boundary at confederation until 1886. At the nomination meeting of the North Bruce Reform Association (as the local chapters of the Liberal Party was still called then) held in Port Elgin on February 14, 1883, Gillies' name was one of the three put forward for nomination. When the contenders were asked for commitments to abide by the decision of the convention, Gillies declined and withdrew from contention[8], and the Liberal nomination went to James Rowand, Gillies' riding association president when he was MP[9]. Gilles stood as an independent candidate. Sensing a potential schism in Liberal ranks, the Conservatives field no candidate in that election, and Gillies went on to defeat Roward on tally of 1186 vs 1066, and the result was trumpeted by Conservative press Toronto Mail as "North Bruce Redeemed". Following his election, Gilles made a pointed to declared reiterate his loyalty to the Liberal Party and his support for the Mowat ministry through a letter printed in the Liberal Globe.[10] Rowand would later held West Bruce, the federal seat gerrymandered with surplus of Liberal votes, from 1887 to 1896.
| 1883 Ontario general election: Bruce North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Independent Liberal | John Gillies | 1186 | ||||||
| Liberal | James Rowand | 1066 | ||||||
| Total valid votes | 2252 | |||||||
| Eligible voters | 5091 | |||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[11] | ||||||||
Later Life and Legacy
In 1888, he was named a police magistrate in Sault Ste. Marie.[3] He died there at the age of 52.[12]
The hamlet of Gillies Hill in Bruce County took its name from John Gillies.[13]
References
- ^ Rose, George Maclean (1886). A cyclopedia of Canadian biography: being chiefly men of the time ... p. 805. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
- ^ "Gemmill, John Alexander, 1847-1905". The Canadian parliamentary companion, 1885. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ a b c The History of the County of Bruce ..., N Robertson Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Senator William Kerr (Cobourg, Ontario) (27 March 1900). "The Redistribution Bill, debate continued". Senate Debates. Vol. 8th Parliament, 5th Session : Vol. 1. Parliament of Canada: Senate. p. 331.
- ^ Sayers, Anthony M. "1872 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024.
- ^ Sayers, Anthony M. "1878 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024.
- ^ "General Election". The British Whig. 21 June 1882. p. 2. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ "Political: Hon. Mr. Fraser In East Elgin; Outlook In South Colchester; Rowland Re-Nominated For North Bruce; South Victoria's Successful Inauguration Of The Campaign". The Globe. 15 February 1883. p. 3.
- ^ "Reform in North Bruce: THE DEMONSTRATION AT PORT ELGIN YESTERDAY Speeches by Hon. Messrs. Cartwright, Huntington, Mowat, and Hardy". The Globe. 26 September 1877. p. 4.
- ^ Gillies, John (24 March 1883). "Letters To The Editor: Position Of John Gillies. MPP". The Globe. p. 4.
- ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1879. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
- ^ Johnson, J.K. (1968). The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967. Public Archives of Canada.
- ^ MacDonald, Ian (1999). "Largieside and its people". The Kintyre Antiquarian & Natural History Society. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
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