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in 1861 he was elected to the Province of Canada's legislative assembly as a Reformer representing Northumberland West. Despite being elected as an opponent of the Macdonald - Cartier administration Cockburn switched allegiances and became a supporter of Macdonald's Liberal-Conservative Party.

Cockburn attended the Quebec Conference of 1864 as a supporter of Confederation. After Confederation he was elected to the new Canadian House of CommonsThe House of Commons (in French, la Chambre des communes is the directly elected lower house of the Parliament of Canada which sits in the nation's capital of Ottawa, Ontario. Leadership Prime Minister and Cabinet Under the Westminster system, the prime m and was nominated by Sir John A. Macdonald to be Canada's first Speaker of the House of CommonsIn Canada the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the lower house and is elected by fellow MPs. The Speaker's role in Canada is similar to that of Speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system (see Speaker o, a position he served from 1867Events January 8 African-American men granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia January 11 Benito Juarez becomes Mexican president again January 30 Emperor Komei of Japan dies. Crown Prince Mutsuhito is expected to become the next Emperor of J to 1874Events January 1 New York City annexes The Bronx January 23 Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, to Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, only daughter of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. January Signing of the Pangkor Tr.

He was crippled by the fact that he spoke no French in a chamber in which both English and French were official languages. He did however understand French. In 1872, Cockburn was nominated for a second term as Speaker despite reservations by the Opposition that he had been too favourable to the government in his rulings. Cockburn lost his seat in the 1874 Canadian election that had been precipitated by the Pacific Scandal and which defeated the Macdonald government.

Cockburn won back his former seat in the 1878 Canadian election but did not take an active role in Parliament. He resigned in 1881 when he was appointed to collect and classify Canadian statutes and completed this assignment shortly before his death at the age of 64.