George Roy McWilliam

George Roy McWilliam (July, 21, 1905 to May, 15, 1977) was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Canadian House of Commons for the constituency of Northumberland—Miramichi, New Brunswick, from 1949 to 1968. He was a resident of Newcastle, New Brunswick for most of his life, where he was the publisher and editor of the "North Shore Leader", a local weekly newspaper.

Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, McWilliam was a Liberal and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Postmaster-General from 1963 to 1964 and to the Minister of Public Works from 1964 to 1965.

McWilliam served as MP through the middle of a long period of Liberal ascendancy in the Miramichi Valley. The coalition that sustained the Liberal Party was centred on the Irish vote, especially from the town of Chatham, New Brunswick where they formed the majority, butressed by the votes of the Irish minority in Newcastle, and the smaller Irish villages like St. Margarets, Barnaby River and Sevogle. Added to this were the votes of the French-speaking Acadians of Neguac, Rogersville, Beaverbrook and Baie Ste. Anne and surrounding areas. The majority of Protestants voted Progressive Conservative, but there were always a minority who supported the Liberals.

The Liberal Party in this period was careful to ensure that party positions of influence reflected all the members of their coalition, Irish, French and Scottish Catholics and English speaking Protestant as well as reflecting the different geographic parts of this large constituency. Patronage was handled locally to ensure an equable distribution of favours to supporters.

Although Catholics generally supported the Liberal Party, the Irish Catholic clergy did not generally involve themselves in politics.

Roy McWilliam's sister was the noted Miramichi historian Edith McAllister.