Sydney Arthur Fisher

The Honourable Sydney Arthur Fisher PC
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Brome
In office 1882–1891
Preceded by	David Ames Manson
Succeeded by	Eugène Alphonse Dyer
In office 1896–1911
Preceded by	Eugène Alphonse Dyer
Succeeded by	George Harold Baker
Personal details
Born	(1850-06-12)June 12, 1850 Montreal, Canada East
Died	April 9, 1921(1921-04-09) (aged 70) Ottawa, Ontario
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	unmarried
Alma mater	McGill University
Cabinet	Minister of Agriculture (1896-1911)

Sydney Arthur Fisher, PC (June 12, 1850 – April 9, 1921) was a Canadian politician, who served as Minister of Agriculture during the regime of Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier from 1896-1911.

Born in Montreal, Canada East, he was educated at the High School of Montreal, McGill University, and finally Trinity College, Cambridge.^[1]

A farmer, he first ran for the House of Commons of Canada in an 1880 by-election for the riding of Brome, for the Liberals, following the death of Edmund Leavens Chandler. Although defeated by Liberal-Conservative David Ames Manson, he was elected in 1882 (when Manson was not a candidate) and again in 1887. In the 1891 election, he lost to Conservative candidate Eugène Alphonse Dyer by 3 votes. When Dyer's win was challenged, he did not run in the subsequent by-election in 1892 when Dyer was acclaimed. However, he was elected again in the pivotal 1896 election, and re-elected in 1900, 1904, 1908 elections, where he was a key member of the Wilfrid Laurier Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture. He was defeated in the 1911, that also saw the end of the Laurier government, and then in a 1913 by-election in Chateauguay, following the death of his former colleague James Pollock Brown, when he lost to James Morris.

There is a Sydney Arthur Fisher fonds at Library and Archives Canada.^[2]

He was the uncle of Philip Sydney Fisher (1896-1983), who became President of the Southam Inc. Publishing chain, and married the granddaughter of founder William Southam.

By-election: On Mr. Brown's death, 30 May 1913

• "Sydney Arthur Fisher". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
• Sydney Arthur Fisher – Parliament of Canada biography
• Serving Agriculture: Canada's Ministers of Agriculture profile