Alexander Sproat

Alexander Sproat (June 19, 1834 – August 20, 1890) was an Ontario land surveyor, businessman and political figure. He represented Bruce North in the 1st Canadian Parliament as a Conservative member.

He was born near Milton in Halton County, Upper Canada in 1834, son of Adam Sproat and Eleanor Brown. He studied at Knox College and Queen's College. He came to Southampton around 1856 as a provincial surveyor, and ended up the agent of the Commercial Bank of Canada (his future father in law, as well as Crown Lands Agent, was the agent of the Bank of Upper Canada, so in effect Alexander's direct competition). He married Alexander McNabb's daughter Eliza in 1861 in Southampton. They were the parents of Marion, Adam, Eleanor.

In 1864, he was appointed treasurer for Bruce County, a position he held until 1873. He served as Colonel with the Southampton Rifles during the Fenian Raids. In 1866, the volunteer companies of the County Bruce were formed into the 32nd Battalion of Infantry and Alex was made Lieutenant Colonel in command. In 1867, Alex was elected Conservative MP for North Bruce and sit in the first House of Commons after Confederation (which sat between 24 Sept 1867 and July 8, 1872). In 1872 he lost his bid for re-election by a handful of votes. He also served as the mayor of Walkerton in 1876 and also served a term as Reeve.

By 1880, Alexander and his family had moved west, to Prince Albert. In that year, he was named registrar for the District of Prince Albert in Saskatchewan. He helped found the Curling Club of Saskatchewan and served as its first president. He organized and served as the first lodge master of L.O.L. No. 1506, the first Orange Lodge in Alberta in 1882. When the North West Rebellion broke out in 1885, Alexander was involved with the Prince Albert Volunteers and was at Duck Lake, where his brother in law Alexander McNabb was wounded.

Alexander Sproat died at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on August 17, 1890.

References

• Alexander Sproat – Parliament of Canada biography
• The Canadian biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men ... (1880)
• Saskatchewan curling : heartland tradition, WP Argan (1991)