After his father died in 1851, Ladner and his brother Thomas Ellis travelled to California to mine for gold.
In 1858, they headed north and joined the rush to the newly discovered gold fields in the Fraser River canyon in British Columbia.
In 1865, with partner Robert Thompson Smith, he was involved in transporting goods to the Big Bend region on the Columbia River.
After mining in the area was found to be unproductive, Ladner's business collapsed and he began farming in the delta of the Fraser River.
He did not seek a second term in the Legislature in the June 1890 provincial election but was defeated when he ran for re-election in a November 1890 byelection in the Westminster District.