Robert Bickerdike

For the Catholic martyr of the 16th century, see Robert Bickerdike (martyr).

Robert Bickerdike
Member of the Canadian Parliament for St. Lawrence
In office 1900–1917
Preceded by	Edward Goff Penny
Succeeded by	District was abolished in 1917
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Montréal division no. 5
In office 1897–1900
Preceded by	John Smythe Hall
Succeeded by	Matthew Hutchinson
Personal details
Born	(1843-08-17)17 August 1843 Kingston, Canada West
Died	28 December 1928(1928-12-28) (aged 85) Lachine, Quebec
Resting place	Mount Royal Cemetery

Robert Bickerdike (17 August 1843 – 28 December 1928) was a Canadian live stock shipping and insurance agent and politician.

Born in Kingston, Canada West the son of Thomas Bickerdike, of Yorkshire, England, and Agnes Cowan, Bickerdike spent most of his life in Quebec after his father moved to Beauharnois County to farm. After acquiring an elementary education at the country school of the district, Bickerdike helped his father for some time on his farm, but at the age of seventeen moved to Montreal, shortly after arriving taking his first position away from home, that of a butcher's boy.

Ten years after he arrived in Montreal he entered into the pork packing trade for himself. He sat for several years in the St. Henri town council. In 1876 he entered the export business, then practically a new industry, and for the twenty years succeeding was one of the largest cattle exporters in Canada. He organized the Dominion Abattoir and Stock Yards Company, the Dominion Live Stock Assurance Company and the Standard Light and Power Company. He had for a number of years represented the Marine Department of the Western Assurance Company. For many years Bickerdike had been a director of the Bank of Hochelaga, and for the fifteen years was its vice-president. He was for many years a member of the Council of the Montreal Board of Trade, and in 1896 was elected president. He was a life governor of the Montreal General Hospital.

Bickerdike's funeral monument in Mount Royal Cemetery.

In 1897, he was elected as the Liberal candidate in the Montréal division no. 5 electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. In the federal general election of 1900 he resigned his seat in the Quebec Legislature and was elected to represent St. Lawrence riding in the House of Commons of Canada. He was re-elected in 1904, 1908, and 1911.

1900 Canadian federal election: St. Lawrence
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Robert Bickerdike	3,439
	Conservative	Henry Archer Ekers	2,457

1904 Canadian federal election: St. Lawrence
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Robert Bickerdike	3,282
	Conservative	C. Lane	2,632

1908 Canadian federal election: St. Lawrence
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Robert Bickerdike	3,576
	Conservative	Henry A. Ekers	2,721
	Independent	Albert St-Martin	186

1911 Canadian federal election: St. Lawrence
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Robert Bickerdike	4,469
	Conservative	George Franklin Johnston	3,421
	Socialist	William Ulric Cotton	359

References

• "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
• An Encyclopedia of Canadian biography. Containing brief sketches and steel engravings of Canada's prominent men. Montreal Canadian Press Syndicate. 1904–1907.
• "Robert Bickerdike". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.

External links

• Robert Bickerdike – Parliament of Canada biography