Rupert Mearse Wells (November 28, 1835 – May 11, 1902) was speaker of the Legislature of Ontario in 1874 to 1879 and served as Liberal MLA for Bruce South from 1872 to 1882. He represented Bruce East in the House of Commons of Canada from 1883 to 1887 as a Liberal.
He was born in Prescott County in Upper Canada in 1835 and attended the University of Toronto. He studied law, was called to the bar in 1857 and entered the practice of law in L'Orignal. He joined the law practice of Edward Blake in 1860 and left that firm to partner with Angus Morrison in 1870. He served as attorney for York County and the city of Toronto in 1872. He was elected to the provincial legislature in an 1872 by-election after Edward Blake resigned to retain his seat in the federal parliament. In 1876, he was named Queen's Counsel.
Electoral history
| Ontario provincial by-election, September 21, 1872: Bruce South Resignation of Edward Blake | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Rupert Mearse Wells | 1,782 | 52.14 | |||||
| Conservative | Mr. Brocelbank | 1,636 | 47.86 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 3,418 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Liberal hold | ||||||||
| Source: History of the Electoral Districts, Legislatures and Ministries of the Province of Ontario[1]: 34 | ||||||||
| 1875 Ontario general election: Bruce South | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Rupert Mearse Wells | 1,864 | 65.87 | +13.73 | ||||
| Conservative | D.W. Ross | 966 | 34.13 | −13.73 | ||||
| Turnout | 2,830 | 49.26 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 5,745 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +13.73 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[2] | ||||||||
| 1879 Ontario general election: Bruce South | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Rupert Mearse Wells | 2,866 | 50.62 | −15.25 | ||||
| Conservative | Mr. Baird | 2,796 | 49.38 | +15.25 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 5,662 | 72.67 | +23.41 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 7,791 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −15.25 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[3] | ||||||||
References
- ^ Lewis, Roderick (1968). Centennial Edition of a History of the Electoral Districts, Legislatures and Ministries of the Province of Ontario, 1867–1968. OCLC 1052682.
- ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1875. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1879. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
External links
- Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history
- Rupert Mearse Wells – Parliament of Canada biography
- The Canadian parliamentary companion and annual register, 1879, CH Mackintosh
- The Canadian Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-made Men. Vol. Ontario. Toronto: American Biographical Publishing Company. 1880. pp. 111–112.
