Labour Candidates and Parties in Canada - Conservative Labour

Conservative Labour was the label used by Canadian Conservative Party politician Henry Buckingham Witton as a candidate in Hamilton, Ontario from 1872 to 1875. Witton may have added "Labour" to the Conservative Party name because Hamilton is a largely industrial city. The first workingman ever to sit in parliament in Canada, Witton was elected largely on the strength of the Hamilton labour movement. Indeed, his candidacy was aided by workers throughout southern Ontario, as can be seen by the very supportive coverage he received in the (Toronto) Ontario Workman.

Witton was employed as a master painter at the Great Western Railway Shops when he was elected in the 1872 federal election, and sat with the Conservative caucus of Sir John A. Macdonald before being defeated in the 1874 election. He ran again in an 1875 by-election but was again defeated.