He was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1821 to Major General Francis Haultain and Eliza Ann Dean, as well as grandson of Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Haultain. Haultain lived in Belgium while his father was stationed there and eventually returned to Britain.
Studied at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, England.
He served with the Royal Artillery, retiring as Lieutenant-Colonel in 1860. He moved to Canada and settled at Peterborough later that year and was elected to the 7th Parliament of the Province of Canada representing Peterborough in 1861 as a Conservative. Haultain later moved to Montreal to work with missionaries and then returned with his family to Peterborough.
In 1864 as a member of the Reform Party, he was elected to the same seat in a by-election for the 8th Parliament of the Province of Canada.
