William Ashbury Buchanan

Who was William Ashbury Buchanan?

William Ashbury Buchanan, was a journalist, publisher and politician based in Alberta.

Following a career as a journalist in Ontario, Buchanan moved to Alberta and purchased the Lethbridge Weekly Herald in 1905. He attempted, unsuccessfully, to turn the paper into a daily in 1907 but it soon resumed a weekly publishing schedule.

Buchanan entered provincial politics when he contested the riding of Lethbridge City on behalf of the Alberta Liberal Party in the 1909 provincial election and won a seat in the Alberta Legislature. He switched to federal politics in the 1911 federal election and was elected for the seat of Medicine Hat as a federal Liberal.

As a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917, Buchanan crossed the floor to support the government of Sir Robert Laird Borden. He was re-elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Unionist for the new riding of Lethbridge in the 1917 general election. He did not run in the 1921 election.

Buchanan was named to the Canadian Senate at the age of 49 in 1925 and served until his death in 1954 for the Liberal Party of Canada. Hecontinued as owner of the Lethbridge Herald until his death.