title: George Ritchie Maxwell
text: # George Ritchie Maxwell
  
  George Ritchie Maxwell (January 11, 1857 – November 17, 1902) was a Canadian Presbyterian minister and politician.
  
  Born in Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, he was ordained a minister of the Church of Scotland in 1880. He migrated to Canada in 1885 serving as a minister in Quebec eventually setting in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1890.
  
  In 1894, he founded the Nationalist Party, BC's first labour party. He ran as a candidate under that label for the British Columbia riding of Burrard in 1896. He was sometimes identified as a Liberal due to his opposition to the Conservative party. He was elected.
  
  Running as a Liberal, he was re-elected in 1900.
  
  He died in office in 1902 from intestinal cancer at the age of 45.
  
  