James Henry Howden (October 11, 1860 – July 16, 1938) 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 member of the

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from 1903 to 1915, and was a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in the government of Rodmond Roblin. Howden was born in

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, Canada West (now

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), the son of Robert Howden, and was educated at

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. In 1882, Howden came to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

where he trained as a lawyer and was called to the Manitoba bar in 1887. He practised as a barrister. In 1891, Howden moved to Neepawa. He married Barbara McIntosh in 1894. Howden served as

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 ...

of Neepawa from 1900 to 1904. He also owned farms in the province and was president of the King Edward Hotel Company. In religion, Howden was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held on December 2, 1903, in the constituency of

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. Howden ran to replace the late Conservative cabinet minister John Andrew Davidson and was elected without opposition. He initially served as a backbench supporter of Roblin's ministry. He was re-elected over

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Alexander Dunlop by 112 votes in the 1907 election, and was named to cabinet on March 16, 1907 as Railway Commissioner. He was reassigned as Minister of Telephones and Telegraphs on March 4, 1908, and was also named Provincial Secretary on November 6, 1908. Howden was returned by acclamation in the 1910 provincial election, and was promoted to

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on October 11, 1911. He also retained responsibility for Telephones and Telegraphs. He defeated Liberal candidate

William Wood William Wood may refer to: Politicians * William Wood (MP for Berkshire), Member of Parliament (MP) for Berkshire, 1395 * William Wood (15th century MP), MP for Winchester, 1413 * William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley (1801–1881), British statesma ...

by thirty-two votes in the 1914 election, and kept both of his portfolios in the legislative sitting which followed. The Roblin administration was forced to resign in early 1915, after a commission of enquiry established by the

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concluded that the government was guilty of corruption in the tendering of contracts for new legislative buildings. Howden resigned from office on May 12, 1915, and did not seek re-election in the campaign that followed. The commission report concluded that Roblin,

James H. Howden and developer Thomas Kelly had conspired to commit fraud in the contract arrangements. Howden was indicted, but was eventually discharged of criminal responsibility. He died suddenly at a family reunion at

Wasagaming Wasagaming (also known as Clear Lake) is the main townsite in the popular tourist destination Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, Canada. It is located at the south gate of Riding Mountain National Park along Highway 10. This townsite is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howden, James 1860 births Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 1938 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Mayors of places in Manitoba People from Neepawa, Manitoba