Josiah Wood | The Canadian Encyclopedia

Article

Josiah Wood

Josiah Wood, businessman, politician, lt-gov of NB 1912-17 (b at Sackville, NB 18 Apr 1843; d there 13 May 1927). A graduate of Mt Allison Coll (MA 1866) and a lawyer, Wood inherited his father's wholesaling, lumbering and shipping firm in 1875.

Wood, Josiah

Josiah Wood, businessman, politician, lt-gov of NB 1912-17 (b at Sackville, NB 18 Apr 1843; d there 13 May 1927). A graduate of Mt Allison Coll (MA 1866) and a lawyer, Wood inherited his father's wholesaling, lumbering and shipping firm in 1875. During the 1880s he diversified into manufacturing, directing a sugar refinery, a cotton mill and other industries in nearby Moncton, NB. Wood secured government subsidies for a railway between Sackville and the Northumberland Str. It was completed in 1886, and he served as president until 1913. A Conservative, he was MP for Westmorland, NB, 1882-95 and became a leading advocate of tariff protection for Canadian industry. He was appointed to the Senate in 1895, resigning in 1912 to become lieutenant-governor of NB. He retired in 1917. Wood was a generous benefactor of the Methodist Church and Mt Allison College.