Edgar Dewdney, PC (November 5, 1835 – August 8, 1916) was a Canadian politician born in Devonshire, England. He served as Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.
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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 of British Columbia Frederick Seymour to oversee the construction of a trail to the East Kootenay region of the British Columbia 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, as it was known, remain to this day and are used for recreational hiking. Provincial Highway 3 largely follows the route of the Dewdney Trail.
From 1868 to 1869, 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 North-West Territories until 1888.
In 1881, Macdonald arranged Dewdney's appointment as Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, then an executive position. 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 been granted to the North-West Territories, so Dewdney was the Territories' head of government. Perhaps his most notable decision in office was changing the territorial capital from Battleford to Regina in 1883—a featureless location without water, trees or topography, but where Dewdney had secured substantial real estate for himself adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railway line.
After his term as Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, 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 appointed to the non-executive post of Lieutenant-Governor 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.
Dewdney had the prenomial "the Honourable" and the postnomial "PC" for life by virtue of being made a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on September 25, 1888.[1]
| Parliament of Canada | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None |
Member of Parliament Yale 1872-1879 |
Succeeded by Francis Jones Barnard |
| Preceded by William Dell Perley |
Member of Parliament Assiniboia East 1888-1892 |
Succeeded by William Walter McDonald |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by David Laird |
Lieutenant-Governors of Northwest Territories 1881-1888 |
Succeeded by Joseph Royal |
| Preceded by John Alexander Macdonald |
Superintendents General of Indian Affairs 1888-1892 |
Succeeded by Thomas Mayne Daly |
| Preceded by Hugh Nelson |
Lieutenant-Governors of British Columbia 1892-1897 |
Succeeded by Thomas Robert McInnes |
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