View source for A. Wesley Stuart

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name= Wesley Stuart
| image =
| cabinet =
| term_start =June 11, 1945
| term_end =March 31, 1958
| predecessor =[[Burton Hill|Burton M. Hill]]
| successor =[[Caldwell Stewart]]
| birth_date ={{birth date|1902|2|11}}
| birth_place =[[Deer Island (New Brunswick)|Deer Island]], [[New Brunswick]], Canada
| death_date ={{death date and age|1984|11|29|1902|2|11}}
| death_place = [[Fredericton, New Brunswick]], Canada
| profession =[[Commercial fishing|Commercial fisherman]]
| party =[[Liberal Party of Canada]]
| residence = [[St. Andrews, New Brunswick]], Canada
| riding =[[New Brunswick Southwest|Charlotte]]
| portfolio =
| footnotes =
| term_start2=
| term_end2=
| predecessor2=
| successor2=
| spouse= Marguerite Graham (1899–1961)
}}
'''Andrew Wesley Stuart''' (February 11, 1902 – November 29, 1984) was a  [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[Commercial fishing|commercial fisherman]] and [[politician]] from the [[New Brunswick|Province of New Brunswick]].

Known as Wes, he was born at [[Deer Island (New Brunswick)|Deer Island]], [[New Brunswick]], the son of Andrew Holmes Stuart and Laura Gertrude Thompson. Raised in a place where fishing was a major part of the economy, he fished for a living and worked as a government [[fishing industry]] inspector.

In the [[1945 Canadian federal election]], Stuart was elected as the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party's]] candidate for the riding of [[New Brunswick Southwest|Charlotte]]. He was reelected in [[1949 Canadian federal election|1949]], [[1953 Canadian federal election|1953]], and again in [[1957 Canadian federal election|1957]].

Stuart lived on the bank of the [[Saint Croix River (Maine – New Brunswick)|St. Croix River]] and as was common for residents, he frequently travelled across the border to [[Maine]]. A proponent of [[free trade]] between Canada and the [[United States]], in 1951 Stuart received much publicly in both countries for his statements in the [[House of Commons of Canada]] on cross-border [[smuggling]]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine reported that he declared he had "been a [[Smuggling|smuggler]] all his life—and intended to keep on being one," adding that he "never came through [the border] in my lifetime that I did not smuggle something." Stuart's straight talk met with wide approval by his constituents and in the ensuing federal election, he won his third term in office with the largest majority of his political career.

In the [[1958 Canadian federal election|1958]] electoral sweep by the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservatives]] under [[John Diefenbaker]], Stuart lost his seat to [[Caldwell Stewart]]. While remaining active in politics, Stuart was the runner up to [[Louis Robichaud]] in a bid for leader of the provincial Liberals later in 1958 and went on to serve as the [[New Brunswick Liberal Association|New Brunswick Liberal Party President]] from 1960 to 1963.

On October 23, 1924, he married Julia Marguerite Graham (1899–1961). The couple had three children, Janet Saint, Roy Graham "Bud" Stuart, and Jacqueline (Jackie) Smith. Stuart died in 1984. He and his wife are buried in the [[St. Andrews, New Brunswick]], Rural Cemetery.

== Electoral history ==
{{1958 Canadian federal election/Charlotte}}
{{1957 Canadian federal election/Charlotte}}
{{1953 Canadian federal election/Charlotte}}
{{1949 Canadian federal election/Charlotte}}
{{1945 Canadian federal election/Charlotte}}

==References==
*{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=5911}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090806061943/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,889281,00.html November 12, 1951 Time magazine article titled "''Case of the Smuggling M.P.''"]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
|before=[[Harry A. Corey]]<br />1953-1959
|after=[[Daniel Aloysius Riley|Daniel A. Riley]]<br />1963-1964
|title=[[New Brunswick Liberal Association|New Brunswick Liberal Party President]]
|years=1960&ndash;1963
}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, A. Wesley}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:Canadian fishermen]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:People from Saint Andrews, New Brunswick]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]