Sir Charles Ramsay Devlin (29 October 1858 – 1 March 1914) was a Canadian politician who was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada, in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, and an Irish MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Sir Charles Ramsay Devlin
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Ottawa (County of)
In office
1891–1896
Preceded byAlonzo Wright
Succeeded byDistrict was abolished in 1892
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Wright
In office
1896–1897
Preceded byAlonzo Wright
Succeeded byLouis Napoléon Champagne
Member of Parliament
for Galway
In office
1903–1906
Preceded byArthur Alfred Lynch
Succeeded byStephen Gwynn
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Nicolet
In office
1906–1907
Preceded byRodolphe Lemieux
Succeeded byGustave-Adolphe-Narcisse Turcotte
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Nicolet
In office
1907–1912
Preceded byAlfred Marchildon
Succeeded byArthur Trahan
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Témiscamingue
In office
1912–1914
Preceded byRiding created
Succeeded byTélesphore Simard
Personal details
Born(1858-10-29)29 October 1858
Galway Bay Ireland
Died1 March 1914(1914-03-01) (aged 55)
Aylmer, Quebec
Political partyLiberal
Other political
affiliations
Irish Parliamentary Party
Quebec Liberal Party
RelationsEmmanuel Berchmans Devlin, son Bernard Devlin, QC, MP, uncle

Career

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Born in Aylmer, Lower Canada, the son of Charles Devlin and Ellen Roney, his father was a merchant from Roscommon in Ireland. After attending the Petit Séminaire de Montréal from 1871 to 1877, he studied at the Université Laval in the faculty of arts from 1879 to 1881 but did not graduate. It is uncertain what his profession was before being elected as the Liberal candidate in 1891 to the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of Ottawa (County of) with the help of his friend Henri Bourassa. He was re-elected in 1896 for the riding of Wright. He resigned in 1897 and was appointed Canada's first trade commissioner in Ireland and served until 1902.

In 1902, against the advice of Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, Devlin was elected by acclamation to the British House of Commons as the Irish Parliamentary Party candidate for Galway Borough. From 1903 to 1906, he was secretary general of the United Irish League. After being returned in the January 1906 general election he resigned later that year to return to Canada and was elected to the Canadian House of Commons from the riding of Nicolet. He resigned in 1907, after being appointed minister of colonization, mines, and fisheries in the cabinet of Quebec Premier Lomer Gouin. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec in a 1907 by-election in the riding of Nicolet and was re-elected in 1908 and 1912. He served until his death in 1914.

He was awarded honorary degrees from the Université Laval in 1908 and the University of Ottawa in 1910. His brother, Emmanuel Berchmans Devlin was also a member of the Canadian House of Commons.

1891 Canadian federal election: Ottawa (County of)
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Charles Ramsay Devlin 2,993
Conservative J. M. McDougall 2,579

References

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  • "Charles Ramsay Devlin". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
  • "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Galway Borough
19031906
Succeeded by