William Annand was born on April 10, 1808, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

He was a farmer, politician, publisher, and businessman. Educated in Scotland, he returned, with his brother, to Nova Scotia in the late 1820s. They intended to become gentlemen farmers on the land they inherited from their father. Annand was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1836 and supported demands for responsible government. He lost his seat in 1843. The same year, Howe offered him a loan to buy and be the editor of the Novascotian, Halifax's most widely read weekly newspaper. Within a year, Annand founded the Morning Chronicle, a penny tri-weekly (becoming a daily in 1864), while continuing the Novascotian. From 1854 to 1857, he served as the queen's printer. In 1851, he returned to the House of Assembly as member for Halifax County. He was the financial secretary in Joseph Howe's ministry from 1860 to 1863, and in 1867, he was appointed to the Legislative Council. In 1866, Annand and Howe headed up a delegation to London to lobby against Nova Scotia's inclusion in the confederation. He became the second premier of Nova Scotia in 1867 on behalf of the Anti-Confederation Party, which soon became the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, but he was a weak leader. Annand resigned on May 8, 1875. Moving to London, he was appointed agent-general representing Canada until 1878 and later agent-general on behalf of the Nova Scotia government, serving in that position until the end of his life.

In 1830, he married Emily Cuff (1811–1833), and in 1834, he remarried Martha Tupper (1815–1891). He died on October 12, 1887, in London, England.