He was born in Biddulph Township, Canada West in 1847, the son of John Harty, an Irish immigrant, and was educated in Kingston.

In 1883, Harty and his wife were part of a group which established a Women's Medical College at Queen's University.

With others, including George Airey Kirkpatrick and Richard John Cartwright, he helped bring the Canadian Locomotive and Engine Company back to Kingston from Montreal and Harty became its managing director.

Several years later, the company was sold to a Scottish firm and Harty become general manager in Canada for the Equitable Life Assurance Society.

In 1892, he was elected to the House of Commons after Byron Moffatt Britton was named a judge.