Harold Edward Welsh

Who was Harold Edward Welsh?

Harold Edward Welsh was a physician and political figure in Ontario. He represented Hastings East in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1936 to 1943 as a Conservative member.

The son of William Frederick Welsh and Caroline Mabel Oatwater, he was born in Moira and was educated at the University of Toronto. He worked as a country doctor, living in Roslin and also served as coroner for Hastings County and as medical officer of health for Huntingdon, Thurlow and Tyendinaga townships. Welsh was elected to the assembly in 1936, defeating Liberal candidate Dr. Harold A. Boyce in a bitterly contested by-election held following the death of James Ferguson Hill. Liberal amendments altering the distribution of school taxes between public and Roman Catholic schools were a crucial issue in the by-election. Welsh died in office; he drowned while fishing in Algonquin Provincial Park.