Edward Gawler Prior

Edward Gawler Prior, PC (May 21, 1853 – December 12, 1920) was a mining engineer and politician in British Columbia.

Colonel The Honourable Edward Gawler Prior
15th Premier of British Columbia
In office November 21, 1902 – June 1, 1903
Monarch	Edward VII
Lieutenant Governor	Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière
Preceded by	James Dunsmuir
Succeeded by	Richard McBride
11th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
In office December 9, 1919 – December 12, 1920
Monarch	George V
Governor General	The Duke of Devonshire
Premier	John Oliver
Preceded by	Francis Stillman Barnard
Succeeded by	Walter Cameron Nichol
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Victoria
In office January 23, 1888 – December 2, 1901 Serving with Edgar Crow Baker, Thomas Earle
Preceded by	Noah Shakespeare
Succeeded by	George Riley
MLA for Victoria City
In office July 7, 1886 – January 23, 1888 Serving with Robert Beaven, Theodore Davie, John Herbert Turner
Preceded by	Montague Tyrwhitt-Drake
Succeeded by	Simeon Duck
In office March 10, 1902 – June 16, 1903 Serving with Richard Hall, Henry Dallas Helmcken, Albert Edward McPhillips
Preceded by	John Herbert Turner
Succeeded by	James Dugald McNiven
Personal details
Born	(1853-05-21)May 21, 1853 Dallowgill, Yorkshire, England
Died	December 12, 1920(1920-12-12) (aged 67) Victoria, British Columbia
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Suzette Work ( m. 1878)
Children	1 son and 3 daughters
Occupation	Land surveyor, merchant, mining engineer
Profession	politician

Early life

Prior was born in Dallowgill, Yorkshire, England and worked as a mining engineer in England until 1873. He then moved to British Columbia, where he settled in Nanaimo and took employment as assistant manager of the Vancouver Coal Mining & Land Co., Ltd. In 1878 he resigned and was appointed Inspector of Mines for the British Columbia government. He left that position and went into business as an iron and hardware merchant in 1880.

Political career

Prior was first elected to the provincial legislature in 1886. In 1888, Prior won a seat in the House of Commons of Canada as a Conservative. From December 1895 to July 1896 and 1897 Prior served as Controller of Inland Revenue in the cabinets of Prime Minister Sir Mackenzie Bowell and his successor Sir Charles Tupper.

He lost his seat in 1901 due to violations of election rules. He moved to provincial politics and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 1901 becoming minister of mines. In 1902 he became the 15th premier leading the province's last non-partisan administration but was dismissed by the lieutenant governor in 1903 due to charges of conflict of interest that involved giving an important construction contract to his own hardware business, and lost his seat in the 1904 provincial election. He was also defeated that year in an attempt to return to the federal House of Commons.

Prior was appointed the 11th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia in 1919 but became ill and died in office within a year of his appointment. Edward Gawler Prior is interred in the Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria, British Columbia.

Prior was the last Canadian premier to be dismissed by a lieutenant-governor, (though William Aberhart, Premier of Alberta, was nearly so in 1937).

Sources

• University of Victoria, BC History Edward Gawler Prior

External links

• Edward Gawler Prior – Parliament of Canada biography