Donald Chisholm

Who was Donald Chisholm?

Donald Chisholm, also known as "Doc" Chisholm, was a Canadian Member of Parliament from British Columbia, representing the riding of New Westminster.

Chisholm was born in valley of the Lower South River near Antigonish, Nova Scotia, of parents who had migrated there from Inverness-shire, Scotland. He was educated there and became a teacher, but in 1849 he started out for the California Gold Rush with 23 other prospectors. In California, he took part in the evolution of that state's mining laws, but had little success in the goldfields but also practiced medicine, and is credited with rescuing the lives of many miners. Staying in California only a few years, he returned to Canada and became involved in the wheat trade in Ontario. Speculating on wheat prices during the Crimean War, Chisholm was left holding thousands of bushels at the time of the declaration of a peace, incurring the loss of a small fortune had the peace come only a few more weeks later.

In the wake of this experience, he migrated to British Columbia in 1858 and became involved in many different businesses, settling in Hope, British Columbia.