James Alexander Calder (September 17, 1868 – July 20, 1956) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician.

Biography

Born in Oxford County,

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, he received his

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degree from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, in the na ...

for the riding of South Regina in the 1905 provincial election. A

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, he was re-elected in a 1908 by-election and in the 1912 election. From 1905 to 1912, he was the Minister of

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, Provincial Treasurer, and Minister of Railways. The rural village of Calder, SK was named after him when it was incorporated in 1911. From 1916 to 1917, he was the President of the Executive Council, Minister of Railways, and Minister of Highways. He was elected as a Unionist candidate to the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javian ...

in the 1917 federal election. He held many ministerial positions including

Minister of Immigration and Colonization The minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship (french: Ministre de l'immigration, des réfugiés et de la citoyenneté) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The minister is responsible for Immigration, Refugees and Citi ...

, Minister of Agriculture (Acting), Minister of Militia and Defence (Acting),

President of the Privy Council In the Canadian cabinet, the president of the King's Privy Council for Canada (french: président du Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada) is nominally in charge of the Privy Council Office. The president of the Privy Council also has the larg ...

, and Minister presiding over the Department of Health. In 1921 James Calder used his position to silence one of the first critics of Residential Schools , Dr P.H. Bryce M.A., M.D., author of Record of the Health Conditions of the Indians of Canada from 1904 to 1921. Dr Bryce had been appalled by the death toll tuberculosis had levelled on the children attending these schools over the previous decades and had advocated intently to improve these conditions and lower a mortality rate exponentially higher than Canadians of European descent. James Calder used his position to force Dr Bryce into an unwanted retirement and was able to silence his advocacy that may have saved innumerable lives. In 1921, he was called to the

Canadian Senate The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

, appointed on the advice of The Rt. Hon.

Arthur Meighen Arthur Meighen (; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and fro ...

, representing the senatorial division of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. A

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(and later Progressive Conservative), he died in office in 1956.

Philately

Outside politics, Calder was a noted

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

who signed the

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of five pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their n ...

in 1947.
Background notes on The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists September 2011
', Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Trust, London, 2011
Archived here.
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Electoral history

, - , Provincial Rights , James Benjamin Hawkes , align="right", 800 , align="right", 47.85% , align="right", – , - bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3, Total !align="right", 1,672 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - , style="width: 130px", Provincial Rights , Albert Eugene Whitmore , align="right", 1,097 , align="right", 51.55% , align="right", +3.70 , - bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3, Total !align="right", 2,128 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - ,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, Hugh Alexander Green , align="right", 254 , align="right", 18.75% , align="right", – , - bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3, Total !align="right", 1,355 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - ,

, James Nixon , align="right", 475 , align="right", 25.93% , align="right", - , - bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3, Total !align="right", 1,832 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - ,

, Henry Leppington , align="right", 1,095 , align="right", 28.86% , align="right", +2.93 , - bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3, Total !align="right", 3,794 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - ,

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, SOMERVILLE, James , , align=2,946

References and sources

;References ;Sources * * * * The Story of a National Crime Being a Record of the Health Conditions of the Indians of Canada from 1904 to 1921, by Dr. P. H. Bryce, M.A., M.D. Chief Medical Officer of the Indian Department https://archive.org/details/storyofnationalc00brycuoft/page/n7/mode/2up {{DEFAULTSORT:Calder, James 1868 births 1956 deaths Canadian senators from Saskatchewan Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Saskatchewan Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Oxford County, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs Unionist Party (Canada) MPs University of Manitoba alumni Canadian philatelists Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists