Representative Charles Wesley Walton

Charles Wesley Weldon (February 27, 1830 – January 12, 1896) was a Canadian lawyer and Liberal politician who represented the City and County of St. John in the House of Commons of Canada from 1878 to 1891. A prominent member of the New Brunswick bar and an early critic of Canadian Confederation, he later became an influential federal parliamentarian during the formative decades of the Dominion.

Weldon was born on February 27, 1830, in Richibucto, New Brunswick, the son of John Wesley Weldon and Frances Chandler Upham. His family was part of the professional and political class of the province; his father, John Wesley Weldon, was a distinguished lawyer, legislator, and later a judge, which placed Charles in an environment closely connected to public affairs and the law from an early age. Growing up in New Brunswick in the pre-Confederation era, he was shaped by the political debates and economic concerns of a small British North American colony whose future constitutional status was increasingly under discussion.

Weldon pursued his education at King’s College in Windsor, Nova Scotia, one of the leading institutions of higher learning in the region and a traditional training ground for the Maritime professional elite. After completing his studies there, he returned to New Brunswick to read law in his father’s office, following the customary apprenticeship route into the legal profession of the time. He was called to the bar in 1851, marking the formal beginning of a legal career that would span several decades. Shortly thereafter, he established his own practice in Saint John, New Brunswick’s principal commercial center, where he built a reputation as a capable advocate and advisor in a community heavily engaged in shipping, trade, and emerging industry.

In 1860, Weldon married Annie Tucker, further consolidating his ties within the province’s social and professional networks. During the 1860s, as discussions about the union of the British North American colonies intensified, Weldon emerged as one of those in New Brunswick who were originally opposed to Confederation. Like many Maritime critics, he was concerned about the potential loss of provincial autonomy and the economic implications of joining a larger federation dominated by the Province of Canada. Despite his early opposition, he continued to practice law and participate in public life after Confederation was achieved in 1867. His professional standing was formally recognized in 1873, when he was appointed Queen’s Counsel, an honor granted to distinguished members of the bar for their experience and contributions to the legal profession.

Weldon’s transition from provincial legal prominence to national political office came in the late 1870s. In the federal general election of 1878, he was elected as a Liberal member of Parliament for the riding of the City and County of St. John. He took his seat in the House of Commons at a time when national politics were dominated by debates over economic policy, railway expansion, and the balance of power between Ottawa and the provinces. Representing a major Maritime urban and commercial constituency, Weldon was positioned to speak to the interests of Saint John’s merchants, professionals, and working population within the broader Liberal opposition to the Conservative government’s National Policy.

Weldon was re-elected and continued to represent the City and County of St. John in the House of Commons from 1878 until 1891, serving through multiple parliaments as a member of the Liberal Party. During these years, the Liberal caucus, under leaders such as Edward Blake and later Wilfrid Laurier, challenged the governing Conservatives on issues including tariffs, trade, and federal-provincial relations. Weldon’s background as a lawyer and his earlier skepticism about Confederation informed his perspective on questions of constitutional authority and regional interests, particularly those affecting the Maritime provinces. His long tenure in office reflected sustained support from his constituents during a period of significant political and economic change in Canada.

In the 1891 general election, Weldon was defeated, bringing his thirteen-year service in the House of Commons to a close. After leaving federal politics, he returned to private life in New Brunswick, where his earlier achievements as a Queen’s Counsel and long-serving member of Parliament had already secured his place among the province’s notable public figures. Charles Wesley Weldon died on January 12, 1896. His career, spanning the pre-Confederation era, the early years of the Dominion, and the consolidation of Canada’s parliamentary institutions, reflected both the aspirations and the concerns of the Maritime provinces within the emerging Canadian federation.