James Ferrier (22 October 1800 – 30 May 1888) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

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.

Life and career

Born in

Auchtermuchty Auchtermuchty ( ; , 'upland of the pigs/boar') is a town in Fife, Scotland. It is beside Pitlour Hill and north of Glenrothes. History Until 1975 Auchtermuchty was a royal burgh, established under charter of King James V in 1517. There is ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Ferrier migrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1821 and established himself in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, as a successful

Scots-Quebecer Scots-Quebecers () are Quebecers who are of Scottish descent. Background Few Scots came to Quebec (then New France) before the Seven Years' War. Those who did blended in with the French population. Perhaps the first Scot to settle was Abra ...

merchant. He served as a

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

lor of Montreal from 1841 to 1848. In 1842, Ferrier took the lead in establishing the

High School of Montreal The High School of Montreal was an English-language high school founded in 1843, serving Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the area eventually known as the Golden Square Mile. It was less formally known as Montreal High School and from 1853 to 1870 was ...

, supported by

William Lunn William Lunn may refer to: *William Lunn (politician) (1872–1942), English Labour Party politician *William Lunn (educator) (1796–1886), Canadian educator, businessman, and politician *William Lunn (rugby union) (1926–1996), New Zealand rugby ...

William Collis Meredith Sir William Collis Meredith, (23 May 1812 – 26 February 1894) was Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec, Superior Court for the Province of Quebec from 1866 to 1884. In 1844, he was offered but refused the positions of Solicitor General ...

, the Rev. Henry Esson, and others, one of their purposes being to provide a solution to the growing influence of

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

in education at the time. The new school opened in 1843.Peter E. Rider, Heather McNabb, ''Kingdom of the Mind: How the Scots Helped Make Canada'' (McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP, 5 April 2006), p. 273 Ferrier became the fourth

mayor of Montreal The mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of the Montreal City Council. The current mayor is Valérie Plante, who was elected into office on November 5, 2017, and sworn in on November 16. The office of the mayor administers all c ...

, holding office from 1844 to 1847. He served on the

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as ...

from 1847 until

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, after which 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 ...

Royal Proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

on 23 October 1867. He sat with the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

group and represented the

Senatorial Division Canadian Senate divisions refers to two aspects of the Senate of Canada. First, it refers to the division of Canada into four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators each, as set out in section 22 of the Constitution Act, 1867.The Constitution Act ...

of Shawinegan until his death in 1888. From 1867 until his death he also served on the

Legislative Council of Quebec The Legislative Council of Quebec (French; ''Conseil législatif du Québec'') was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec from 1867 to 1968. The Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Legislative Assem ...

, sitting for the division of Victoria. Ferrier was chancellor of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

from 1884 to 1888. He is commemorated by Ferrier Street in northwestern Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal.

Notes

References

* * * 1800 births 1888 deaths Businesspeople from Montreal Chancellors of McGill University Canadian senators from Quebec Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Conservative Party of Quebec MLCs Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Mayors of Montreal People from Fife Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Immigrants to Lower Canada {{Quebec-mayor-stub