A. Wesley Stuart

Andrew Wesley Stuart (February 11, 1902 – November 29, 1984) was a Canadian commercial fisherman and politician from the Province of New Brunswick.

Wesley Stuart
Member of Parliament for Charlotte
In office June 11, 1945 – March 31, 1958
Preceded by	Burton M. Hill
Succeeded by	Caldwell Stewart
Personal details
Born	(1902-02-11)February 11, 1902 Deer Island, New Brunswick, Canada
Died	November 29, 1984(1984-11-29) (aged 82) Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Political party	Liberal Party of Canada
Spouse	Marguerite Graham (1899–1961)
Residence(s)	St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada
Profession	Commercial fisherman

Known by Wes, he was born at Deer Island, New Brunswick, the son of Andrew Holmes Stuart and Laura Gertrude Thompson. Raised in a place where fishing was a major part of the economy, in addition to fishing for a living, he worked as a government fishing industry inspector.

In the 1945 Canadian federal election, Stuart was elected as the Liberal Party's candidate for the riding of Charlotte. He was reelected in 1949, 1953, and again in 1957.

Wesley Stuart lived on the bank of the St. Croix River and as was common for residents, he frequently travelled across the border to Maine. A proponent of free trade between Canada and the United States, in 1951 Stuart received much publicly in both countries for his statements in the House of Commons of Canada on cross-border smuggling. Time magazine reported that he declared he had "been a smuggler all his life—and intended to keep on being one," adding that he "never came through [the border] in my lifetime that I did not smuggle something." Stuart's straight talk met with wide approval by his constituents and in the ensuing federal election, he won his third term in office with the largest majority of his political career.

In the 1958 electoral sweep by the Progressive Conservatives under John Diefenbaker, Stuart lost his seat to Caldwell Stewart. While remaining active in politics, he was the runner up to Louis Robichaud in a bid for leader of the provincial Liberals later in 1958 and went on to serve as the New Brunswick Liberal Party President from 1960 to 1963.

On October 23, 1924, he married Julia Marguerite Graham (1899–1961) . The couple had three children (Janet Saint, Roy Graham "Bud" Stuart, and Jacqueline (Jackie) Smith). Wesley Stuart died in 1984. He and his wife are buried in the St. Andrews, New Brunswick Rural Cemetery.

Electoral history

1958 Canadian federal election: Charlotte
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Caldwell Stewart	5,756	52.6	+5.2
	Liberal	Wesley Stuart	5,806	47.4	-5.2
Total valid votes			11,562	100.0

1957 Canadian federal election: Charlotte
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wesley Stuart	6,393	52.6	+0.2
	Progressive Conservative	Lorne B. Groom	5,756	47.4	+3.3
Total valid votes			12,149	100.0

1953 Canadian federal election: Charlotte
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wesley Stuart	6,155	52.4	+2.2
	Progressive Conservative	Hardy N. Ganong	5,180	44.1	-5.4
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Tom William Jones	416	3.5	*
Total valid votes			11,751	100.0

1949 Canadian federal election: Charlotte
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wesley Stuart	6,197	50.2	+0.1
	Progressive Conservative	Hardy N. Ganong	6,139	49.8	-0.1
Total valid votes			12,336	100.0

1945 Canadian federal election: Charlotte
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wesley Stuart	5,486	50.1	-8.0
	Progressive Conservative	Chauncey Randall Pollard	5,456	49.9	+8.0
Total valid votes			10,942	100.0

References

• A. Wesley Stuart – Parliament of Canada biography
• November 12, 1951 Time magazine article titled "Case of the Smuggling M.P."