Harold Ernest Forster was a rancher, miner and political figure in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. He represented Columbia

Columbia (electoral district)

Columbia was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It made its first appearance on the hustings in the election of 1903. It lasted until the 1928 election, after which the revised riding was renamed Columbia River...

 from 1912 to 1916 as an Independent Conservative.

He was born 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....

, but both his parents died before he was one year old, and he was raised by a grandmother in Galt, Ontario and uncles who lived near Carlisle, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Forster travelled with Harold Topham, a British climber, during Topham's visit to the Selkirks

Selkirk Mountains

The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia. They begin at Mica Peak near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and extend approximately 320 km north from the border. The range is bounded on its west,...

 in 1890. In 1912, he married Meda Hume. He purchased a ranch in the upper Columbia Valley

Columbia Valley

The Columbia Valley is the name used for a region in the Rocky Mountain Trench near the headwaters of the Columbia River between the town of Golden and the Canal Flats. The main hub of the valley is the town of Invermere. Other towns include Radium Hot Springs, Windermere and Fairmont Hot Springs...

 in the same year. Forster was the owner of the SS Selkirk

Selkirk (sternwheeler 1895)

Selkirk was a small sternwheel steamer that operated on the Thompson and Columbia rivers in British Columbia from 1895 to 1917. This vessel should not be confused with the much larger Yukon River sternwheeler Selkirk.-Design and construction:...

, a sternwheeler steamboat that he had transported by rail to the upper Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

. He and John Lundy, a house guest, were shot by a Cranbrook man who had asked the two men for liquor and been refused. Forster's house was burned in an attempt to cover up the crime. Frank Sylvester was hanged for the murder of John Lundy the following year.

Mount Forster, Forster Creek and Forster Pass were named after him.