Edward McGlashan (12 December 1817 – 31 July 1889) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. McGlashan was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1817. His father's family were publishers to the University of Edinburgh. After receiving a good education, McGlashan worked in the book trade. Inspired by his brother's work as secretary for the Otago Association, he decided to emigrate and left in 1848. He went to Adelaide in South Australia, then Melbourne and finally Sydney, where he sold the books that he took with him for a good profit. There, he purchased provisions that he took with himself to Dunedin in 1850, which he could once again sell at a good profit. In 1853, he was joined in Dunedin by his older brother, John McGlashan.