James McShane

Mayor
James McShane
Mayor James McShane
21st Mayor of Montreal
	In office; 1891–1893
Preceded by	Jacques Grenier
Succeeded by	Alphonse Desjardins
Member of the Canadian Parliament; for Montreal Centre
	In office; 1895–1896
Preceded by	John Joseph Curran
Succeeded by	None, district abolished
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Montréal division no. 6
	In office; 1890–1892
Preceded by	None, district created
Succeeded by	Patrick Kennedy
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Montréal-Centre
	In office; 1886–1890
Preceded by	George Washington Stephens
Succeeded by	None, district abolished
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Montréal-Ouest
	In office; 1878–1886
Preceded by	John Wait McGauvran
Succeeded by	John Smythe Hall
Personal details
Born	7 November 1833; Montreal, Lower Canada
Died	14 December 1918 (aged 85); Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Other political; affiliations	Quebec Liberal Party
Profession	businessman
Cabinet	Quebec:; Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works (1887-1888)

James McShane (7 November 1833 – 14 December 1918) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He was mayor of Montreal, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, and a member of the House of Commons of Canada.

Background

Born in Montreal, the son of James McShane and Ellen Quinn, he worked as an exporter of livestock to England. He served as a volunteer in the militia during the Fenian raids in 1866.

Montreal city politics

He represented the Sainte-Anne Ward on the Montreal City Council, from 1868 to 1873, 1874 to 1881 and from 1883 to 1887. From 1891 to 1893, he was the mayor of Montreal.

Member of the Provincial Legislature

In 1873, he was defeated as the Liberal Party of Quebec candidate in a Quebec provincial by-election in the riding of Montréal-Ouest.^{[citation needed]}

He was elected in the 1878 provincial election and re-elected in 1881. He was elected in Montréal-Centre in 1886, and in Montréal division no. 6 in 1890. From 1887 to 1888, he was commissioner of agriculture and public works in the cabinet of Premier Honoré Mercier. He was defeated in the 1892 provincial election.^{[citation needed]}

Federal politics

In 1895, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in a by-election in the riding of Montreal Centre. A Liberal, he was defeated in the 1896 federal election in the riding of St. Anne.

v t e 1896 Canadian federal election: St. Anne
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Michael Joseph Francis Quinn	3,071
	Liberal	James McShane	2,952

Party		Candidate	Votes
By-election on 27 December 1895
	Liberal	James McShane	acclaimed

Retirement

After leaving politics, he was involved with the Montreal Harbour Commission and was harbour-master from 1900 to 1912. After his death in 1918, he was entombed at the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.^[1]

Gallery

References

^ Répertoire des personnages inhumés au cimetière ayant marqué l'histoire de notre société (in French). Montreal: Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery.

James McShane – Parliament of Canada biography
"James McShane". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
"Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.

[1] Répertoire des personnages inhumés au cimetière ayant marqué l'histoire de notre société (in French). Montreal: Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery.

[1]