James Ford Garden (February 19, 1847 – December 9, 1914) was a Canadian engineer and the seventh

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, serving from 1898 to 1900. Under his tenure the city developed a street car system, sidewalks, road grades and water connections. Born in

Woodstock, New Brunswick Woodstock is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada on the Saint John River, 103 km upriver from Fredericton at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River. It is near the Canada–United States border and Houlton, Maine and the inter ...

, the son of H. M. G. and E. Jane (Gale) Garden, Garden was elected a member of the

Canadian Society of Civil Engineers The Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) (French: l'Institut canadien des ingénieurs; ICI) is a federation of fourteen engineering societies based in Canada, covering a broad range of engineering branches, and with a history going back to 1887. F ...

in 1894. He was a lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps in the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a resistance by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of S ...

in 1885 and was wounded in the

Battle of Batoche The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion, which pitted the Canadian authorities against a force of First Nations and Métis people. Fought from May 9 to 12, 1885, at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatche ...

. From 1898 to 1900, he was mayor of Vancouver. He ran unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate 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 ...

for the electoral district of Burrard in the 1900 federal election. He was elected to the

British Columbia Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria. Members are elected from provincial r ...

as a

British Columbia Conservative Party The Conservative Party of British Columbia is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. In the early half of the 20th century, the Conservatives competed with the British Columbia Liberal Party for power in the province. Since th ...

MLA for Vancouver City in 1900 and re-elected in 1903 and 1907. He died of a stroke at his home at 679 Granville Street, Vancouver.

References

1847 births 1914 deaths British Columbia Conservative Party MLAs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Mayors of Vancouver People of the North-West Rebellion People from Woodstock, New Brunswick 19th-century Canadian politicians 20th-century Canadian politicians {{BritishColumbia-mayor-stub