Canadian politician, soldier, educator, journalist, and statesman. He was minister of militia and defense (1911–16) and was responsible for moving Canadian troops to Europe at the beginning of World War I (1914–18).

Hughes was a teacher and a member of the voluntary militia. In 1885–97 he was proprietor and editor of the Warder, a newspaper in Lindsay. After one unsuccessful attempt, Hughes was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for North Victoria in 1892, sitting until 1921, except during the South African War (1899–1902).

In 1897 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in command of the 45th Regiment. During the South African War he organized lines of communication in South Africa. He returned to Canada in 1900 and was made a full colonel in 1902.

Hughes became minister of militia and defense in 1911, and, with the outbreak of war in 1914, he proceeded to organize, train, and equip the Canadian Expeditionary Force for service in Europe. He was overbearing, determined, and stubborn and championed Canadian views in the face of critics at home and in Great Britain. He was knighted in 1915. Hughes resigned from office in 1916 after a disagreement with the prime minister, Sir Robert Laird Borden.