Article

Arthur Sturgis Hardy

Published Online June 20, 2007

Last Edited March 4, 2015

Arthur Sturgis Hardy, lawyer and politician, premier of Ontario 1896-99 (b at Mount Pleasant, near Brantford, Ont 14 Dec 1837; d at Toronto 13 June 1901). After a promising early career as a lawyer and city solicitor in
Hardy, Arthur Sturgis
The Honourable Arthur Sturgis Hardy, premier of Ontario 1896 - 1899 (courtesy Archives of Ontario).

Hardy, Arthur Sturgis

Arthur Sturgis Hardy, lawyer and politician, premier of Ontario 1896-99 (b at Mount Pleasant, near Brantford, Ont 14 Dec 1837; d at Toronto 13 June 1901). After a promising early career as a lawyer and city solicitor in Brantford, Hardy was elected liberal MPP for South Brant in 1873. Bills he introduced as provincial secretary (1877-79) touched on social issues and on the administration of justice, while as commissioner of crown lands (1889-96) he was responsible for important timber and mining legislation and for the establishment of Algonquin Provincial Park. Arthur Hardy succeeded Sir Oliver Mowat as premier and attorney general in July 1896. Following a narrow electoral victory in 1898, Hardy resigned for reasons of health in 1899.