William Alexander Weir

William Alexander Weir
William Alexander Weir
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Argenteuil
	In office; 1897–1910
Preceded by	William John Simpson
Succeeded by	John Hay
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec
	In office; April 25, 1905 – August 31, 1906
Preceded by	Auguste Tessier
Succeeded by	Philippe-Honoré Roy
Personal details
Born	October 15, 1858; Montreal, Canada East
Died	October 22, 1929 (aged 71); London, England
Alma mater	McGill University

William Alexander Weir (October 15, 1858 – October 22, 1929) was a Quebec lawyer, politician, and judge. He was the MLA for Argenteuil in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1897–1910, held several ministries, and helped rewrite several provincial Codes.

Biography

Early life

William Alexander Weir was born in Montreal on October 15, 1858, the son of William Park Weir and Helen Craig Smith, who had emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1852. William Park Weir became Surveyor of Customs in the Port of Montreal. His brother, Robert Stanley Weir, would become famous as a judge and author of the English verses for O Canada.

Weir was educated at the High School of Montreal and McGill University, earning a B.C.L. degree in 1881, and was called to the Bar of Quebec on July 12, 1881.

He married Adelaide Sayers Stewart, daughter of William C. Stewart of Hamilton, Ontario in October 1885.

Early career

During the time he practised law, Weir also wrote for The Montreal Star from 1880–1881 and the Argenteuil County News from 1895–1897.

Weir published several special editions of Quebec Civil Codes and he served as Secretary of the Royal Commission to revise the Code of Civil Procedure in 1897.

Political career

Weir's first attempt at election to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec in 1890 failed. In 1897, he ran again and succeeded in winning the riding of Argenteuil, representing the Liberal Party of Quebec.

He was appointed Minister without Portfolio in 1903 under Premier Simon-Napoléon Parent. On February 3, 1905, Weir, Lomer Gouin, and Adélard Turgeon joined forces and resigned from Cabinet in a push to force Parent out of the leadership. Gouin then became Premier on March 21, 1905 and Weir served as Minister without Portfolio (1905), Speaker (1905–1906), Minister of Public Works and Labour (1906–1907), and Provincial Treasurer (1907–1910).

Judge

Upon appointment as a judge for the Quebec Superior Court on January 11, 1910, Weir resigned his seat. He presided over the Workman libel trial in May 1911.

He finished his career becoming a Montreal District Court judge in 1923.

Death

William Alexander Weir died on October 22, 1929 in London, England.

Published works

Municipal Code of the Province of Quebec (1889)
Civil Code of the Province of Quebec (1890)
Codes of the Province of Quebec (1890)
An Insolvency Manual (1890)
The Educational Act of the Province of Quebec (1899)
Code of Civil Procedure (1900)

References

Joseph Graham The Lost History of Weir. Retrieved June 18, 2005.
"Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
Ed. Henry James Morgan (1912). Canadian Men & Women of the Time 1912. Toronto: William Briggs. William Alexander Weir excerpt. Retrieved June 18, 2005.
Université de Sherbrooke Bilan du Siècle - William Alexander Weir (1858-1929) Homme politique, avocat. (in French) Retrieved June 18, 2005.
Assemblée nationale du Québec. Argenteuil electoral results since 1867. (in French) Retrieved June 18, 2005.