Name William Davidson Role Canadian Politician | Died March 23, 1942 Education University of Toronto | |
William McCartney Davidson (November 12, 1872 – March 23, 1942) was a Canadian journalist, politician, and author.
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Early life
Born in Hillier, Prince Edward County, Ontario, the son of James C. Davidson, a farmer, and Sarah McCartney Davidson, Davidson was educated at the public school of his district, Picton High School, St. Catharines Collegiate Institute, and the University of Toronto where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1893. He started working as a reporter for The Toronto World and soon joined the Toronto Star. He would report from the Ontario legislature for seven years.
The Albertan
In 1902, Davidson founded The Albertan, a daily newspaper published in the Calgary region that would become the Calgary Sun, it was printed and published by his company The Albertan Pub. Co.
Political career
Davidson was first elected to the Alberta Legislature in the 1917 Alberta general election. He defeated Conservative incumbent Samuel Bacon Hillocks by a comfortable margin to win his first term in office and represent the North Calgary electoral district.
Davidson retired at the end of his first term in office to run in the 1925 Canadian federal election in Calgary East he was badly defeated finishing a distant 3rd place behind Conservative Fred Davis the winner and Labor candidate William Irvine.
Davidson would seek another term in the Alberta Legislature in the Calgary electoral district as an Independent in a by-election on January 15, 1923 held after the death of Robert Edwards. He defeated Liberal candidate Clinton J. Ford to win. He retired from provincial politics for the second time in 1926.
Published works
After he retired from provincial politics Davidson spent 2 years from 1926 to 1928 researching Louis Riel. As a result, he wrote 2 biographical books on the life of Louis Riel. Louis Riel, 1844-1885 : a biography and The life and times of Louis Riel. The second book was published as a condensed form of the first. Both books were published through his company The Albertan Pub. Co.