Andrew Stuart

Who was Andrew Stuart?

Andrew Stuart was a lawyer and political figure in Lower Canada.

He was born at Cataraqui in 1785, the son of Anglican priest John Stuart, a United Empire Loyalist, and studied with the Reverend John Strachan and then at Union College in New York. He studied law in Lower Canada, was admitted to the bar in 1807 and set up practice at Quebec City. He defended Pierre-Stanislas Bédard, who had been arrested for his involvement with the newspaper Le Canadien. Henry Black practiced with Stuart as a partner. Stuart was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for the Lower Town of Quebec in 1814 and reelected in 1816; he supported the parti canadien at that time. He was elected to represent the Upper Town of Quebec in April 1820 and continued to represent that riding until his defeat in 1834. Near the end of that period, Stuart became a supporter of the government party. Stuart voted against the Ninety-Two Resolutions. He was elected again in a by-election held in 1836 and served until the suspension of the constitution following the Lower Canada Rebellion. In 1838, he was named solicitor general for Lower Canada.