Background
He was born in Lambton Mills, Canada West (later Etobicoke) in 1847, the son of Sir William Pearce Howland, and was educated at Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto.
He was born in Lambton Mills, Canada West (later Etobicoke) in 1847, the son of Sir William Pearce Howland, and was educated at Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto.
He studied law with Matthew Crooks Cameron, was called to the bar in 1875 and set up practice in Toronto.
He represented Toronto South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1894 to 1898 and was mayor of Toronto from 1901 to 1902. Howland was later named King"s Counsel. He was a vice-president of the Canadian Bar Association and served on the council of the Canadian Institute from 1894 to 1895.
Howland was president of the Internal Deep Waterways Association and chairman of the Canadian branch of the International Commission on Deep Water Ways.
He was also a director of Bishop Ridley College.
He was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada.