William Pugsley

This article is about the former Premier of New Brunswick. For the Richmond Hill, Ontario reeve, see William H. Pugsley

William Pugsley
Hon. William Pugsley
11th Premier of New Brunswick
In office March 6, 1907 – May 31, 1907
Preceded by	Lemuel J. Tweedie
Succeeded by	Clifford W. Robinson
Personal details
Born	September 27, 1850(1850-09-27) Sussex, New Brunswick Canada
Died	March 3, 1925(1925-03-03) (aged 74) Toronto, Ontario Canada
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	1) Frances Jane Parks 2) Gertrude Macdonald
Religion	Anglican

William Pugsley, PC, QC (September 27, 1850 – March 3, 1925) was a politician and lawyer in New Brunswick, Canada.

He was born in Sussex, New Brunswick, the son of William Pugsley, of United Empire Loyalist descent, and Frances Jane Hayward. He was educated at the University of New Brunswick. He studied mathematics, classics, and English and was awarded many scholarships. In his junior year he was the gold medallist of his class. He went on to study law, was admitted to the bar in 1872 and set up practice in Saint John. The University of New Brunswick awarded him a BCL in 1879 and would confer honorary degrees of DCL in 1884 and LL.D in 1918. Pugsley was created a QC on 4 February 1891.

Pugsley, a Liberal, served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Solicitor-General and Attorney-General in various Liberal governments before becoming premier in 1907.

He resigned in September of that year to become minister of public works in the federal Liberal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He served in that position until the government's defeat in the 1911 federal election, but remained as an Member of Parliament (MP) until 1917 when he was appointed the 15th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. When his term ended in 1923, he was appointed to a federal position in charge of settling war claims, and held that position until his death in Toronto in 1925. He was buried in the Fernhill Cemetery in Saint John, New Brunswick.

References

• "William Pugsley". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2005. 
• Biography, Government of New Brunswick

External links

• William Pugsley - Parliament of Canada biography
• Works by or about William Pugsley in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Parliament of Canada
Preceded by Alfred Augustus Stockton	Member of Parliament from City and County of St. John 1907-1911	Succeeded by John Waterhouse Daniel
Preceded by John Waterhouse Daniel	Member of Parliament from City of St. John 1911-1917	Succeeded by The electoral district was abolished in 1914.