James Cameron Watson (October 21, 1890 – November 1, 1986) was a Canadian politician,

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

and 25th Mayor of Calgary.

Early life

Watson was born October 21, 1890, in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, to British parents.World War I Attestation Paper
/ref> He was educated in Boston, New York and Halifax and became a telephone journeyman electrician. Watson moved to Alberta to work in a coal mine, however a serious injury forced him back into the telephone industry. Watson was employed by

Bell Telephone The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America for over one hundre ...

and later, Alberta Government Telephones, where he became a member of the Brotherhood of Electric Workers, and eventually chairman of the Calgary Labor Council.

Military service

In 1916, at the age of 25, Watson enlisted in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with the 56th Battalion, and later, the 50th Battalion as a Lewis gunner where he participated in the

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions o ...

in April 1917. Watson was transferred to the Signal Corps where he continued to see combat on the Western front at

The Somme The Battle of the Somme (French language, French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. I ...

, Paschendale,

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

and at

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

, where he was wounded in both legs.

Political life

Owing to his profile in the labour community, Watson was first elected to

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

in 1943 as an Alderman, and served through to 1945. Friends convinced Watson to contest the 1945 election, and he agreed to run conceding that he would most likely lose. To his surprise, Watson won the election and became the 25th Mayor of Calgary in 1945, and held that office for until he was defeated by

Donald Hugh Mackay Donald Hugh Mackay (March 22, 1914 – January 26, 1979) was the 26th Mayor of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Early life He spent his youth in Calgary and Drumheller, receiving most of his public school education in Drumheller. In the early 1930s, Ma ...

in the 1950 municipal election. Watson was known for the purchase of Coste House which became the Allied Arts Centre, a space for artists and artisans. Watson was the deciding vote on the decision not to relocate the Calgary General Hospital to downtown, and instead the investment was used to expand the hospital. As well, during Watson's term, the City first installed

parking meters A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street par ...

Later life

Watson retired from public life and remained active in the labour movement in Calgary, and later moved to

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

, where he died on November 1, 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, James Cameron 1986 deaths 1891 births Mayors of Calgary Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers Electricians 20th-century Canadian politicians