Charles W. Fairbairn was a farmer, businessman and political figure in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada. He represented Victoria South

Victoria South

Victoria South was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867, which divided the County of Victoria divided into two ridings, the South and North...

 in the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 from 1890 to 1896 as a Liberal-Conservative member.

He was born near Lakefield, Ontario, the son of a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 immigrant, and was educated in Peterborough

Peterborough, Ontario

Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...

. In 1861, he married Heather Fee. Fairbairn served on the town council for Bobcaygeon

Bobcaygeon, Ontario

Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent-Severn Waterway in the City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada.Bobcaygeon was incorporated as village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas"...

 and was reeve for Verulam Township

Verulam Township, Ontario

The Township of Verulam was a rural municipality within the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes. It was bounded on the north by the geographic township of Somerville, the south by the geographic township of Emily, the west by the geographic township of Fenelon, and the east by...

. He also served as warden for Victoria County

Victoria County, Ontario

The County of Victoria, or Victoria County, was a county in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was formed in 1854 as The United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria, and gained independence in 1863. In 2001, the county was dissolved and reformed as the city of Kawartha Lakes...

 in 1879. He was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat in the Ontario legislative assembly in 1883 and 1890. Fairbairn was first elected to the House of Commons in an 1890 by-election held after the death of Adam Hudspeth

Adam Hudspeth

Adam Hudspeth was a Canadian lawyer and politician.Born in Cobourg, Upper Canada, Hudspeth received his education in the Grammar School in Cobourg, under the tutelage of his father, Robert Hudspeth, who was head-master. He studied law and was called to the bar in 1867...

; that election was declared void but he won the by-election which followed in 1891.

A rural post office in Verulam Township was named Fairbairn in his honour.