Text from the Plaque
Ontario's fourth prime minister was born in Mount Pleasant, called to the Bar in 1865, and practiced law in Brantford for many years. In 1873 he was elected to the Ontario legislature and sat as Liberal member for South Brant until 1899. Appointed provincial secretary and registrar in 1877, he became commissioner of crown lands in 1889. Following the resignation of Sir Oliver Mowat in 1896, Arthur Hardy assumed the portfolios of prime minister and attorney general. During his regime, an extensive revision and consolidation of the province's statutes was completed. He retired from politics in 1899 and, until his death, held the positions of clerk of process and surrogate clerk at Osgoode Hall.
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