James Cowan (September 5, 1914 – January 4, 1997) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1958 to 1969.

Early life and education

Cowan was born in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, the son of Thomas Hind Cowan and Robena Isabel Taylor. He was educated at the

Manitoba Law School The Robson Hall Faculty of Law is the law school of the University of Manitoba (U of M) located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is on the university's Fort Garry campus. History In 1914, Hugh Amos Robson, a judge on the Court of King's Benc ...

in Winnipeg and was called to the

Manitoba bar The Law Society of Manitoba (LSM) is the self-governing regulatory body of the legal profession in Manitoba, Canada. Membership in the LSM is required in order to practice law in the province. , the LSM had 2072 members with active practising s ...

in 1939.

Career

Cowan worked as a lawyer in Winnipeg until 1984. He served in the Canadian Army during World War II and was later president of the Canadian Legion Memorial Housing Foundation within Manitoba. During this period, he was known as a vigorous proponent of housing for retired veterans. He first ran for public office in the 1941 provincial election, as a candidate of the Conservative Party of Manitoba in the electoral district of Winnipeg. Winnipeg, at the time, elected ten members by preferential balloting in an at-large poll. Cowan finished last among the Conservative candidates, and was eliminated on the tenth count with only 665 votes. He ran for 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 ...

as a Progressive Conservative in the 1953 federal election, but lost to Liberal incumbent William Weir in the riding of Portage—Neepawa. He later moved to Winnipeg, and served as a member of the Winnipeg City Council from 1955 to 1958. Cowan was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1958 provincial election, winning an easy victory in the riding of

Winnipeg Centre Winnipeg Centre (french: Winnipeg-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1925 and since 1997. History This riding was originally created in 1914 fr ...

. He was returned in the elections of

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, never encountering any serious challenges. He was never appointed to cabinet, but served as deputy speaker for a time. The

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

defeated the Progressive Conservatives in the 1969 provincial election, and NDP candidate

Bud Boyce Joseph Russell (Bud) Boyce (March 20, 1924 in Saint John, New Brunswick – March 16, 1984) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1969 to 1981, and served in the cabinet of Edward Sc ...

defeated Cowan by almost 1,000 votes in the Winnipeg Centre riding.

Personal life

Cowan was married twice, first to Dorothy Jones in 1945 and then, after they divorced, to Rose Amy Cooper in 1956. Cowan died in Winnipeg and was buried in Portage la Prairie.

References

1914 births 1997 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Candidates in the 1953 Canadian federal election Canadian people of Irish descent Lawyers in Manitoba {{Manitoba-politician-stub