 He was a lumber merchant in the Glasgow-based firm Gilmour, Rankin & Co (a branch of Pollok, Gilmour and Company) which operated on the Miramichi River; by 1852, he was the sole resident partner and he was given control of the operation in 1870.Hutchison represented Northumberland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1864 to 1866.He was elected to the House of Commons in an 1868 by-election held after the death of John Mercer Johnson.