Daniel Hanington was born on June 27, 1835 in Shediac, New Brunswick.
His father, also named Daniel Hanington, who was a political figure in New Brunswick. He sat in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1834 to 1862 and was one of the first English settlers in the Shediac Bay area.
After attending Mount Allison Academy, he went on to study law and was called to the New Brunswick Bar in 1861.
The same year he was called to the Bar, he married Emily Myers Wetmore.
Throughout his time as a lawyer, he had a reputation of as an excellent lawyer and legal advisor.
For several years, Hanington served as a school trustee.
From 1867 to 1870, he was a clerk with Westmorland County and served on the Queen’s Counsel.
In 1870, Hanington first ran for the provincial legislature but did not win. A few months later, he ran in a by-election and won as a Liberal-Conservative.
Four years later in 1874, he lost his seat due to his opposition to the Common Schools Legislation. Throughout the previous years during the debate over common schools, Hanington was a vocal opponent and took a very strong stance against it. He believed heavily in the use of religious instruction in schools.
It wasn’t just the common schools issue he had a strong stance on. Throughout his time in the legislature, Hanington was known for taking strong positions on every issue. On the one hand this raised his political profile, but on the other it didn’t make him many friends on either side of the Legislature.
In 1878, Hanington he regained his seat in the legislature.
Under Premier John James Fraser, Hanington was a minister without portfolio. Fraser did this to help resolve the rift over the common schools question.
On May 25, 1882, Hanington succeeded John James Fraser as premier after the premier left the position to run for Parliament.
Many were surprised by the fact Hanington became premier. He was not considered by those around him to be an effective legislator, and James Hannay said his succession to premier came as a great surprise to many and led to many unfavourable comments.
As premier, Hanington was sympathetic to the rights of Acadians and he appointed Pierre-Amand Landry to the position of provincial secretary.
Andrew G. Blair was the Leader of the Opposition, and he was a constant force in opposing Hanington in the Legislature.
Due to not having many friends in his own party, Hanington was unable to do much in his time as premier, and did not pass any notable legislation.
On March 3, 1883, Hanington faced a Motion of No Confidence put forward by Blair. His government fell and he went into an election.
Hanington lost the 1883 election and became the Leader of the Opposition.
In 1886, Hanington was unable to defeat Blair in the election and continued to serve in the Legislature.
Throughout his time as Leader of the Opposition, Hanington opposed Premier Blair on every single issue. Nothing was too small for him to confront the premier in the Legislature. He became known for his passionate speeches, including attacking the government over a $10 cost overrun.
Despite his best efforts, Hanington was not able to damage the reputation of the ruling party or that of Premier Blair.
On April 1, 1892, Hanington left the Legislature to take a position on the province’s Supreme Court.
His friend James Hannay said he was never,
“never was a great success as a political leader…due to the fact that he was always so desperately in earnest.”
Hanington served on the New Brunswick Supreme Court until he died on May 5, 1909 in Dorchester, New Brunswick.
