# Alexander Vidal

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{{short description|Canadian politician}}
{{for|the British admiral and surveyor|Alexander Thomas Emeric Vidal}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
thumb|right|Alexander Vidal <br /> Source: Library and Archives Canada

'''Alexander Vidal''' (4 August 1819 &ndash; 18 December 1906) was an [Ontario](/source/Ontario) land surveyor, banker, and political figure. He was a [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_of_Canada_(historical)) member of the [Senate of Canada](/source/Senate_of_Canada) for Sarnia division from 1873 to 1906.

He was born in [Bracknell](/source/Bracknell), [Berkshire](/source/Berkshire), [England](/source/England) in 1819, the son of a captain in the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy). Vidal studied at the [Royal Mathematical School](/source/Royal_Mathematical_School) at [Christ's Hospital](/source/Christ's_Hospital) in [London](/source/London) and came to [Upper Canada](/source/Upper_Canada) with his family in 1834. He served in the local militia during the [Upper Canada Rebellion](/source/Upper_Canada_Rebellion) and remained in the militia, becoming lieutenant-colonel. He settled in [Sarnia](/source/Sarnia) and was a provincial land surveyor from 1843 to 1852; he surveyed the town plot for [Sault Ste. Marie](/source/Sault_Ste._Marie%2C_Ontario). Vidal was manager of the [Bank of Upper Canada](/source/Bank_of_Upper_Canada) at Sarnia from 1852 to 1866 and of the [Bank of Montreal](/source/Bank_of_Montreal) from 1866 to 1875. He also served as treasurer for [Lambton County](/source/Lambton_County). In 1863, he was elected to the [Legislative Council of the Province of Canada](/source/Legislative_Council_of_the_Province_of_Canada) for St. Clair division and served until [Confederation](/source/Canadian_Confederation). Vidal ran unsuccessfully against [Alexander Mackenzie](/source/Alexander_Mackenzie_(politician)) in the riding of [Lambton](/source/Lambton_(federal_electoral_district)) for a seat in the House of Commons in 1867 and 1872. In 1873, he was named to the Senate. He was a supporter of the [temperance movement](/source/temperance_movement). Vidal was an elder of the [Canadian Presbyterian Church](/source/Presbyterian_Church_in_Canada) and was the first president of the Sarnia [YMCA](/source/YMCA).{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

He died in office at Sarnia in 1906. He is interred in Lakeview Cemetery in Sarnia, Ontario.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
{{1867 Canadian federal election/Lambton}}
{{1872 Canadian federal election/Lambton}}

==References==
{{wikisource|works=or}}
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=16900}}
* {{cite book |title=The Canadian Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-made Men |location=Toronto |publisher=American Biographical Publishing Company |date=1880 |volume=Ontario |pages=361–362 |url=https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.08545/509}}
* {{cite book |url=https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.91595/196 |pages=196–197 |title=A Cyclopæedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time |year=1886 |publisher=Rose Publishing Co. |editor-last=Rose |editor-first=Geo. Maclean |location=Toronto}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Alexander}}
Category:1819 births
Category:1906 deaths
Category:People educated at Christ's Hospital
Category:Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
Category:Canadian senators from Ontario
Category:Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators
Category:Military personnel from Berkshire
Category:19th-century Canadian military personnel
Category:Canadian Militia officers
Category:Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament
Category:Candidates in the 1867 Canadian federal election
Category:Candidates in the 1872 Canadian federal election

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alexander Vidal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vidal) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vidal?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.