He was born at Sheffield's Corners in Leeds County, Upper Canada in 1817 and went to Montreal to live with his uncle after his father's death in 1826.

For a time, he was a director for the Grand Trunk and, in 1853, formed a firm with Alexander Tilloch Galt and others which was contracted to extend their tracks from Toronto to Sarnia.

In 1857, he retired from his association with the Grand Trunk with the intention of devoting his attention to politics but was defeated in the next general election.

In 1863, he resigned to become minister of finance in the government of John Sandfield Macdonald and Antoine-Aimé Dorion; when he ran for a seat in the Legislative Assembly, he was defeated in Montreal Centre but elected in Châteauguay.

He represented Montréal-Centre in the Quebec Legislative Assembly from 1871 until 1874, when the dual mandate became illegal (holding seats both federally and provincially).