John Roaf Barber

Who was John Roaf Barber?

John Roaf Barber was a Canadian enterprising and utilitarian businessman and represented Halton in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1898 to 1904.

He was born in Georgetown, Ontario in 1841. His father came to Canada from County Antrim in Northern Ireland in 1822. His father and uncles had established a paper mill in the area after being involved in woollen milling since 1837. Barber became the manager in 1861. In 1876, with his brother James and John Fitzallen Ellis, he established Barber and Ellis, which would become one of the largest stationery manufacturers and suppliers in Canada. He took over operation of the mills in 1880. In 1881, he helped establish Toronto Paper Manufacturing Company Limited and set up a mill at Cornwall, Ontario. By 1883 this mill was producing newsprint and high quality paper. He visited Europe in 1886 to find alternatives to wood pulp from Quebec, and afterward in 1887 he set up a sulfite mill in Cornwall to supply high quality wood pulp to his plant and others.

The only other paper product supplier in Canada in the 1870s was Alexander Buntin, which Barber saw as an opportunity to expand.