James Lyall Christie (June 9, 1891 – January 19, 1953) was a politician in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...

as a

Liberal-Progressive Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no Liberal-Progressive party: it was an alliance between two parties. In Manitoba, a party existe ...

representative from 1932 until his death.

Background

Christie was born and educated in

Glenboro, Manitoba Glenboro is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of Glenboro – South Cypress within the Canadian province of Manitoba that held village status prior to January 1, 2015. it is located about 80 km southeast of the City of Br ...

where he worked as a farmer. His father, also named James Christie, was an unsuccessful Liberal candidate in the 1914 provincial election. His mother was Annie Ferguson. The younger James Christie served as the provincial director of Manitoba Livestock Producers Ltd. and was an official or member in several local farm associations as well as being an active

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. He served as a soldier in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

"Attestation papers"
Library and Archives of Canada. with the Motor Machine Gun Corps from 1916 to 1918 during

World War I 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 ...

, and was wounded during the Arras-Cambrai drive.

Career

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1932 provincial election, defeating incumbent Conservative

William H. Spinks William Hooey Spinks (July 23, 1873 – May 25, 1949) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1920 to 1932, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, Conservative Party ...

by 256 votes in the

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

constituency. In the 1936 election, he was re-elected over Conservative candidate R.G. Hurton by 129 votes. Christie again defeated Hurton, who was by this time an independent candidate, in the 1941 provincial election. Christie's re-election in the 1945 provincial election occurred under unusual circumstances. During this period, the Liberal-Progressive Party was the dominant power in a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

which also included the Progressive Conservative Party, Social Credit and some independents. At a nomination meeting to determine the governing coalition's candidate, Christie unexpectedly lost to independent Robin Parsons by one vote. He challenged the validity of the result, however, and entered the general election as a candidate against Parsons. There were no further candidates, and Christie was easily elected over Parsons. He continued to sit with the Liberal-Progressives, on the government side. He was re-elected again in the 1949 provincial election and was still a member of the legislature when he died in Glenboro in January 1953. His death followed a serious illness. Christie served as

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

of the Liberal-Progressive party for thirteen years. He was appointed chair of the standing committee on municipal affairs in 1949, and headed the provincial committee on agriculture and immigration from 1949 to 1952.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, James 1891 births 1953 deaths Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers