Alexander Sproat

Who was Alexander Sproat?

Alexander Sproat was an Ontario land surveyor, businessman and political figure. He represented Bruce North in the 1st Canadian Parliament as a Conservative member.

He was born near Milton in Halton County, Upper Canada in 1834, son of Adam Sproat and Eleanor Brown. He studied at Knox College and Queen's College. He came to Southampton around 1856 as a provincial surveyor, and ended up the agent of the Commercial Bank of Canada. He married Alexander McNabb's daughter Eliza in 1861 in Southampton. They were the parents of Marion, Adam, Eleanor.

In 1864, he was appointed treasurer for Bruce County, a position he held until 1873. He served as Colonel with the Southampton Rifles during the Fenian Raids. In 1866, the volunteer companies of the County Bruce were formed into the 32nd Battalion of Infantry and Alex was made Lieutenant Colonel in command. In 1867, Alex was elected Conservative MP for North Bruce and sit in the first House of Commons after Confederation. In 1872 he lost his bid for re-election by a handful of votes. He also served as the mayor of Walkerton in 1876 and also served a term as Reeve.