Edgar Dewdney
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Edgar Dewdney (5 November 1835 – August 8, 1916) was a Canadian politician born in Devonshire, England. He served as Lieutenant Governor of one province and one territory.
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Early Life and Career
Following his education in Civil Engineering, he emigrated from England to British Columbia in 1859. In 1864 Dewdney married Jane Shaw Moir, the daughter of a tea plantation owner from Ceylon. This marriage was without issue.
Dewdney was originally employed as a railway surveyor, and supervised the survey of New Westminster. In 1865 Dewdney was appointed by Lieutenant Governor Frederick Seymour to oversee the construction of a trail to the interior so that coastal merchants might benefit from the burgeoning trade associated with gold mining in that area. Although used for only a few years, parts of the "Dewdney trail" remain to this day and are used for recreational hiking.
Entry into politics
From 1868 to 1869 Edgar Dewdney became active in Colonial politics, representing the electoral district of Kootenay in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. After B.C. joined the Canadian confederation in 1871, he served as a Conservative member of Parliament for the riding of Yale following his election in 1872. He was appointed a member of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald's cabinet in 1879, where he served as Indian commissioner for the Northwest Territories until 1888.
In 1881 Macdonald arranged Dewdney's appointment as Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories. Dewdney resigned his seat in the Commons, but remained Indian commissioner during his term as Lieutenant Governor, which lasted until 1888. Responsible government had not yet been granted to the Northwest Territories, so Dewdney was the Territories' head of government and not a mere figurehead. Perhaps his most notable decision in office was changing the territorial capital from Battleford to Regina in 1883.
After his term as Lieutenant Governor, Dewdney was again elected to Parliament and served as the member for Assiniboia East (now southeastern Saskatchewan) from 1888 to 1891. During this period he also served as minister of the Interior and superintendent of Indian Affairs.
In 1892 he was again appointed Lieutenant Governor, but this time for the province of British Columbia. He served in this post until 1897.
He retired from politics in 1900 after unsuccessfully running for Parliament in New Westminster, British Columbia.
In 1909 Following the death his wife Jane, Dewdney remarried. His new wife was Blanche Kemeys-Tynte, the daughter of Colonel Charles John Kemeys-Tynte of Halswell, Somerset, England.
A major east-west street in Regina, Dewdney Avenue, is named after him.
See also
External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=41456)
| Preceded by: Hugh Nelson | Lieutenant Governors of British Columbia 1892-1897 | Succeeded by: Thomas Robert McInnes |
| Preceded by: David Laird | Lieutenant Governors of the Northwest Territories 1881-1888 | Succeeded by: Joseph Royal |