William Beatty (Ontario politician)

For other persons named William Beatty, see William Beatty (disambiguation).

William Beatty
Ontario MPP
In office
1867–1871
Succeeded byJames Currie
ConstituencyWelland
Personal details
Born(1835-01-19)January 19, 1835
Stonyford, Ireland
DiedDecember 2, 1898(1898-12-02) (aged 63)
Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal
ProfessionBusinessman

William Beatty (January 19, 1835 – December 2, 1898) was an Ontario businessman and political figure.

He was born in Stonyford, Ireland in 1835 and came to Thorold in Upper Canada with his family the same year. He attended Victoria College in Cobourg, receiving an LLB in 1864. He was elected to the university's senate in the following year. He also worked with his father and brother in the timber trade. Their company operated a sawmill on the Seguin River at Parry Sound, primarily managed by William, and a steamship service between Collingwood, Parry Sound and Port Arthur/Fort William (Thunder Bay), mainly operated by his brother James Hughes. The firm set up a town at Parry Sound and William also served as a lay Methodist minister for the community.

In 1867, he was unsuccessful in a bid to represent Algoma in the House of Commons of Canada, losing by 9 votes; he was elected to represent Welland in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario later that same year. He was not reelected in the next general election in 1871. Later that year, the operation in Parry Sound was sold and Beatty settled there. He bought out his brother and father's share in the town site and set up a general store there. With Beatty's support, a vote was taken to keep the township free of alcohol under the terms of the Dunkin Act. Up until 1950, anyone who bought land in the town had to sign an agreement not to sell alcohol on their premises.

Over the years, Beatty operated a number of mills at Parry Sound. He also retained a share in the shipping operation. He operated a hotel located on the waterfront and helped establish a railway line to Parry Sound, which was later taken over by John Rudolphus Booth's Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway.

He died at Parry Sound in 1898.

Electoral record

Federal

1867 Canadian federal election: Algoma
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Wemyss Mackenzie Simpson 250 47.26
Unknown William Beatty 241 45.56
Unknown A. MacDonell 38 7.18
Eligible voters 862
Source: Canadian Parliamentary Guide, 1871[1]

Provincial

1867 Ontario general election: Welland
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal William Beatty 1,298 54.22
Conservative E.A. Pew 1,096 45.78
Total valid votes 2,394 68.52
Eligible voters 3,494
Liberal pickup new district.
Source: Elections Ontario[2]
1871 Ontario general election: Welland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal James Currie 1,182 53.12 −1.10
Liberal William Beatty 1,043 46.88 −7.34
Turnout 2,225 61.08 −7.44
Eligible voters 3,643
Liberal hold Swing +3.12
Source: Elections Ontario[3]

References

  1. ^ "Canadian Parliamentary Guide, 1871". p. 160. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  2. ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1867. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1871. Retrieved March 31, 2024.