Born in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, the son of John and Ann (Carey) Douglas, Douglas was educated in public schools, in Stellarton, at Pictou Academy and Mount Allison University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1897 and a Master of Arts in 1909.
He received a Bachelor of Law degree from Dalhousie University in 1899 and was called to the Bar in 1900.
From 1911 to 1916, he was a Liberal-Conservative member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Cape Breton County.
He was also Minister of Lands and Forests and Attorney General in the cabinet of Edgar Nelson Rhodes.
This article about a Progressive Conservative party Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly is a stub.