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John Andrew Davidson (August 19, 1852-November 14, 1903) was a Manitoba politician. In 1894, he was briefly the leader of Manitoba's Conservative parliamentary caucus.
Davidson was born in Thamesford, Canada West (now Ontario). He moved to Manitoba in 1871, and became a mill owner and general merchant. He also served as a member of the Protestant school board.
When Manitoba's boundaries were expanded in 1881, Davidson was elected to the provincial legislature as the first member for the new riding of Dauphin. A Liberal at the time, he defeated his sole opponent, P.S. St. Clair McGregor, by 148 votes to 17.
Party affiliations were fluid in Manitoba during this period, and by the general election of 1883 Davidson was identifying himself as a Liberal-Conservative, and a supporter of Premier John Norquay. He was re-elected in Dauphin without opposition.
Redistribution pushed Davidson into the riding of Beautiful Plains for the election of 1886. The Liberals saw their support rise in this campaign, and Davidson (now a Conservative) lost to Liberal John Crawford by thirty votes. Crawford also defeated Davidson in a 1888 rematch, this time by 24 votes.
Popular support for the Conservatives recovered slightly in 1892, and Davidson defeated Crawford by 16 votes in their third encounter. The opposition caucus initially chose William Alexander Macdonald as its leader; when Macdonald's riding victory was annulled in 1893, however, Davidson was chosen in his place. He made his first speech as leader of the opposition in January 1894.
Davidson was a moderate figure, whose interventions were generally respected by the province's Liberal leadership. He was not able to serve as opposition leader for very long, however. He was unseated on April 17, 1894, and was subsequently defeated by John Forsyth of the Patrons of Industry in a by-election. After his loss, the leadership of the opposition seems to have shifted to James Fisher, an Independent MLA.
Davidson was again defeated by a Patrons of Industry candidate in 1896. He was also unable to reclaim his seat in the Conservative victory of 1899, falling to Liberal candidate Robert Ennis by 90 votes. He was nevertheless appointed to cabinet by Premier Hugh John Macdonald in January 1900, serving as Provincial Treasurer, Minister of Agriculture, and Provincial Lands Commissioner. Ennis was persuaded to resign his seat the next month, and Crawford was easily returned to parliament in a by-election.
Rodmond P. Roblin took the Agriculture portfolio on becoming Premier in late 1900, but kept Davidson in his other two roles. Within a year, Davidson had eliminated the debt accumulated during the previous administration of Thomas Greenway.
Davidson was re-elected in 1903, but died shortly after the election.
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