He served as Agriculture Minister for both levels of government during his career.

Born in Perth, Canada West, Motherwell attended the Ontario Agricultural College, graduating in 1881; then worked that summer in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

[1] The following year he spring he returned to the prairies joining settlers in who traveled by rail to Brandon, Manitoba, then by red river cart and wagon beyond to the area of Abernethy, Saskatchewan, where he settled and constructed the Motherwell Homestead.

[1] He first ran as the Liberal candidate for the House of Commons of Canada for the Saskatchewan riding of Assiniboia in a 1919 by-election.

The Motherwell Homestead near Abernethy, Saskatchewan was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1966, and is now operated as a museum.