Norman F. Wilson
Toronto Daily Star, January 16 1937
I am fascinated by portraits of businesspeople who have just been promoted into a new job. When does a company decide that a person is important enough to have their picture sent to the newspapers?
Usually, I have to dig through the Toronto city directories to find out what happened to the person in the photograph, but Norman Frank Wilson (1876-1956) was a former member of Parliament, so he was easy to trace.
Mr. Wilson represented the Russell riding from 1904 to 1908. He did not seek office again in 1908; another Liberal, Charles Murphy, won the seat and held it until 1925. Mr. Wilson apparently originally was a farmer before going into the insurance business; I could find out very little about him, including why he ran for office at a comparatively young age or why he left.
The most noteworthy thing about Mr. Wilson was that his wife, Cairine Wilson, was the first woman ever to be appointed to the Canadian Senate. She later became the first woman to serve as a Canadian delegate to the United Nations General Assembly and the first woman Deputy Speaker of the Senate.
Created August 19, 2025.