James Angus MacKinnon, (October 4, 1881 – April 18, 1958) 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. MacKinnon would serve as a Member of Parlimant,

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

and later Senator from Alberta.

Early life

James Agnus MacKinnon was in

Port Elgin, Ontario Port Elgin is a community in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada. Its location is in the traditional territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. Originally named Normanton the town was renamed Port Elgin when it was incorporated in 1874, after James Bruce, ...

on October 4, 1881 to James MacKinnon and Margaret Tolmie MacKinnon, both of Scottish descent.

Political life

MacKinnon was first elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

representing the riding of

Edmonton West Edmonton West (french: Edmonton-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1988, from 1997 to 2004 and again since 2015. Demographics History and geography T ...

in the 1935 federal 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 1940 and

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

. He held many cabinet positions in the cabinets of

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

and Louis Stephen St-Laurent including Minister without Portfolio, Minister of Trade and Commerce,

Minister of National Revenue The minister of national revenue (french: ministre du revenu national) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), as well as the administration of taxation law and collection. T ...

(Acting), Minister of Fisheries, and

Minister of Mines and Resources The position of Minister of Mines and Resources was a cabinet portfolio in Canada from 1936 to 1950. The mines portfolio had previously been that of the Minister of Mines, which was a portfolio adjunct to other ministries such as Inland Revenue ...

. As Minister of Trade and Commerce during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, MacKinnon strove to orient Canadian trade policy towards

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

when the war cut off many Canadian markets. He did not seek re-election to the House in the 1949 election. He was appointed to the

Senate of Canada 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 ...

representing the senatorial division of Edmonton, Alberta. From 1949 to 1950, while a senator, he was a minister without portfolio in the cabinet of Louis St-Laurent. MacKinnon died in office in 1958.

Personal life

MacKinnon married Irene Sharpe from

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

on June 28, 1911, and had one adopted daughter, Keltie. She died on October 31, 1968, leaving her husband Denis Slattery, and five children, Sandy White (née Slattery), Gayle Slattery, John Slattery, Jim Slattery and Ann Varszegi (née Slattery). MacKinnon was given an

honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

in Laws from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

on October 23, 1948.

References

External links

* 1881 births 1958 deaths Canadian senators from Alberta Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Bruce County Canadian people of Scottish descent {{Alberta-politician-stub

Early life

Political life

Personal life

Archives

References

External links