Wilmot, Montagu (d. 1766)

Governor of Nova Scotia.

Entered the British army as an ensign (1730) and advanced steadily, eventually reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel (1755). Posted to Nova Scotia (1749). Appointed lieutenant- governor (1763), then governor (1764). Ill health, poor oratorical skills, and the heavy provincial debt marred his brief tenure. Sought in vain to discourage land speculation in the wake of the Proclamation of 1763, which forbade English settlement west of the Appalachians and encouraged settlement of eastern Canada instead.