Robert Young (politician)

Robert Young (November 11 1834 – February 3 1904) was a businessman and political figure in New Brunswick, Canada. He represented Gloucester County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1861 to 1867 as a Liberal member.

He was born in Tracadie, New Brunswick, the son of James Young and Ann Ferguson, and was educated in Chatham. He took over the operation of the Caraquet branch of his father's fishing and canning business in 1851. In 1857, he married Sarah Hubbard. After his father's death in 1866, Young took on the operation of the company and expanded the amount of lobster canning that the company did. Although English-speaking, because many of his constituents were Acadian, Young supported such measures as translating the proceedings of the provincial assembly into French and opposed the Common School Act of 1871. He also supported the establishment of lazarettos in the province. In 1867, Young was named to the province's Legislative Council. Five years later, he was named to the Executive Council, becoming its president, serving to 1883. As a member of the government, he now supported the implementation of the Common School Act and was involved in an incident where one Acadian and one of his supporters was killed. He continued to sit as a member of the Legislative Council until it was abolished in 1892. Young ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Commons in 1896. He died of heart disease at home in Caraquet at the age of 69.

His sister Helen married Alfred Corbett Smith.

References

* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=7160 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]