James Gray Turgeon (October 7, 1879 – February 14, 1964) was a broker, soldier, and provincial and federal level politician from

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 ...

. He served as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...

from 1913 to 1921 sitting with the Alberta Liberal caucus in government. During that time he also served in

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 ...

. Turgeon had a long career in federal politics. He served as a Member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1947 and he also served as a Canadian Senator from 1947 to his death in 1964 sitting with the federal

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

caucus in both houses.

Early life

James Gray Turgeon was born on October 7, 1879 in Bathurst,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. His father was Onésiphore Turgeon a prominent federal politician. He had one brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

who also became a prominent politician.

Alberta politics

Turgeon ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature for the first time in the

1913 Alberta general election The 1913 Alberta general election was held in March 1913. The writ was dropped on 25 March 1913 and election day was held 17 April 1913 to elect 56 members to the 3rd Alberta Legislature. Elections in two northern districts took place on 30 July ...

as a Liberal candidate. He defeated Conservative candidate William Blair to pick up the new Ribstone electoral district for his party. During the 3rd Legislature, the Assembly passed ''An Act amending The Election Act respecting Members of the Legislative Assembly on Active Service'' (Bill 58) which acclaimed members of the assembly in the 1917 election who were serving in armed forces during 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 ...

. The Act listed eleven members of the assembly and provided those members were deemed nominated and elected as a member of the 4th Alberta Legislature, effectively being acclaimed in the 1917 election, including James Turgeon, who served as a lieutenant in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

233rd Battalion and later 258th Battalion during the war. Turgeon ran for a third term in the 1921 Alberta general election. He was defeated in a landslide by

United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...

candidate Charles Wright.

World War I

Turgeon enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force while he was still a member of the Alberta Legislature in 1914. He served as a lieutenant in the army until 1918. Turgeon spent two months overseas in England, and accompanied Pierre-Édouard Blondin on a ten day visit to France before returning to Canada. Turgeon was struck from the strength of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on January 21, 1918 for reason of being "Surplus to Requirements".

British Columbia

Turgeon moved to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, he ran for a seat to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the

1933 British Columbia general election Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

as a candidate for the British Columbia Liberals in the riding of

Vancouver East Vancouver East (french: Vancouver-Est) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. It is currently represented by New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan. The ...

he was defeated only obtaining 16% of the vote and finishing in fourth place out of thirteen candidates. Two years later, Turgeon would run for a seat in the House of Commons of Canada in the 1935 Canadian federal election as a federal

candidate. He defeated Incumbent John Fraser and three other candidates. Turgeon ran for a second term in the

1940 Canadian federal election The 1940 Canadian federal election was held March 26, 1940, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 19th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal Party was re-elected to their second consecuti ...

. He won a hotly contested three-way race over Co-operative Commonwealth candidate William Irvine to hold his seat. The 1945 federal election would see Turgeon and Irvine face each other for the second time. This time Turgeon went down to defeat finishing a close second in the four-way race. After his defeat Turgeon was appointed to the Canadian Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Mackenzie King on January 27, 1947. He designated his senate division as Cariboo, British Columbia. He would serve in the Senate until his death on February 14, 1964.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turgeon, James 1879 births 1964 deaths British Columbia Liberal Party candidates in British Columbia provincial elections Liberal Party of Canada senators Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Canadian senators from British Columbia British Columbia Liberal Party politicians