Name Frederick Congdon Role Canadian Politician | Party Liberal Party of Canada | |
Died March 13, 1932, Ottawa, Canada | ||
Frederick Tennyson Congdon (November 16, 1858 - March 13, 1932) was a Canadian politician, lawyer, and served as the Yukon's fourth Commissioner.
Congdon was born in Annapolis, Nova Scotia and attended Yarmouth High School. Following graduation, he received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the University of Toronto in 1879 and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1883. He then attended the Inner Temple in London to study law.
He was then an editorial writer for the Halifax Morning Chronicle between 1885 and 1887. He then practised law and lectured at Dalhousie University. In 1898, he wrote Congdon's Digest of Nova Scotia Reports.
Around the turn of the 20th century, Congdon moved to the Yukon Territory to serve as Crown Prosecutor and legal advisor to the Yukon Council. In 1903, he was appointed Commissioner.
His term in office was not looked upon with a positive feeling and it was mired by corruption and controversy. He has also been blamed for the disincorporation of Dawson City in 1904.
Only a year after his appointment, Congdon resigned so he could win the Yukon's seat in the Canadian House of Commons, which had been recently vacated by former Yukon Commissioner James Hamilton Ross, who left his seat when he was appointed to the Canadian Senate. A loyal Liberal Party member, Congdon was defeated for the seat in Parliament.
However, he did not give up hope that he would sit in the House. He finally won the seat in 1908 in a by-election, but lost it in 1911. This would be the last and only time that Congdon would serve as Member of Parliament for the Yukon.
After 1921, following yet another defeat, Congdon practised law in Toronto. He went once more for the seat, in 1926, only to suffer his last defeat. He died in Ottawa in 1932.