George Moffatt (1787–1865)

George Moffatt (August 13, 1787 – February 25, 1865) was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East (now Quebec). Born in England, he emigrated to Lower Canada at the age of 14. He became involved in business in Montreal, including the fur trade.

Moffatt was involved in the municipal politics of Montreal, and in 1830 was appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada. Following the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838, he was appointed to the Executive Council of Lower Canada and the Special Council of Lower Canada, an appointed body that took the place of the Parliament of Lower Canada, which was suspended. He provided advice to the Governor General, Lord Durham, on the constitutional reforms following the Rebellion, and supported the union of Lower Canada and Upper Canada. He also urged moderation after the Rebellion, suggesting to the Colonial Secretary that banishment for the most serious rebels was the appropriate penalty.

After the union of Lower Canada with Upper Canada, Moffatt was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, as one of two members for Montreal. He resigned his seat in 1843 to protest the proposal to move the seat of government from Kingston to Montreal, but was re-elected in the general election of 1844. He did not stand for election in the general election of 1848.

Although Moffatt began his political career as a leader of the British Tories in Lower Canada, and opposed any conciliatory measures towards the French-Canadians, his views gradually moderated. By his second term in the Legislative Assembly, he was the seconder of the motion calling on the British government to amend the Union Act, 1840 to allow French to be used in the provincial Parliament, on the same status as English.

After leaving electoral politics, Moffatt supported the controversial Rebellion Losses Bill, to compensate residents of Lower Canada for property damage in the Rebellion. He also was one of the organisers of the British American League, which opposed the Montreal annexationist movement of the late 1840s. He continued in his business activities for the rest of his life.

He died in Montreal in 1865.