Alexander Vidal

Alexander Vidal (August 4, 1819 – December 18, 1906) was an Ontario land surveyor, banker, and political figure. He was a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada for Sarnia division from 1873 to 1906.

He was born in Bracknell, Berkshire, England in 1819, the son of a captain in the Royal Navy. Vidal studied at the Royal Mathematical School at Christ's Hospital in London and came to Upper Canada with his family in 1834. He served in the local militia during the Upper Canada Rebellion and remained in the militia, becoming lieutenant-colonel. He settled in Sarnia and was a provincial land surveyor from 1843 to 1852; he surveyed the town plot for Sault Ste. Marie. Vidal was manager of the Bank of Upper Canada at Sarnia from 1852 to 1866 and of the Bank of Montreal from 1866 to 1875. He also served as treasurer for Lambton County. In 1863, he was elected to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada for St. Clair division and served until Confederation. Vidal ran unsuccessfully against Alexander Mackenzie in the riding of Lambton for a seat in the House of Commons in 1867 and 1872. In 1873, he was named to the Senate. He was a supporter of the temperance movement. Vidal was an elder of the Canadian Presbyterian Church and was the first president of the Sarnia YMCA.

He died in office at Sarnia in 1906. He is interred in Lakeview Cemetery in Sarnia, Ontario.

v t e 1867 Canadian federal election: Lambton
Party	Candidate	Votes	Elected
	Liberal	Alexander Mackenzie	1,999	Y
	Conservative	Alexander Vidal	1,311
Source: Canadian Elections Database^[1]

v t e 1872 Canadian federal election: Lambton
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Alexander Mackenzie	2,190
	Conservative	Alexander Vidal	1,555
Source: Canadian Elections Database^[2]

References

Alexander Vidal – Parliament of Canada biography
The Canadian Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-made Men. Vol. Ontario. Toronto: American Biographical Publishing Company. 1880. pp. 361–362.
A Cyclopæedia of Canadian biography : being chiefly men of the time ..., GM Rose (1886)

^ Sayers, Anthony M. "1867 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024.
^ Sayers, Anthony M. "1872 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024.

[1] Sayers, Anthony M. "1867 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024.

[2] Sayers, Anthony M. "1872 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024.

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