James Leslie (4 September 1786 – 6 December 1873) was a

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 ...

businessman and political figure. He was named 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 ...

for Alma division in 1867 and died in office. He was born in Kair,

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and w ...

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, the son of James Leslie, his father was an assistant quartermaster in the British Army who served with General Wolfe at

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

in 1759. He studied at

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and the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

and came to

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

in 1804. Leslie owned a food wholesale company in

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. He was a member of the local militia and served during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

; he later became lieutenant-colonel. He helped form the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

and served as a director from 1817 to 1829. He owned the

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ies of Bourchemin, Ramesay and Lake Matapédia. He represented

Montreal East Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of ele ...

from 1824 to 1838. He supported representation by population and so opposed the Union of Upper and Lower Canada. He was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature 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 C ...

for

Verchères Verchères is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in Montérégie, Quebec, located on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 5,692. History In the 17th century, the settlement at Verchères w ...

as a Reformer in an 1841 by-election; he was reelected in 1844 and 1847. He was named president of the Executive Council in 1848; he was named secretary for

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

in September of that year and served until 1851. Also in 1848, he was named to the Legislative Council and served 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 ...

, when he was named to the Senate. He died in Montreal in 1873. The Township of Leslie (formerly part of Leslie-Clapham-et-Huddersfield, now part of Otter Lake) in Quebec was named in his honour.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, James 1786 births 1873 deaths Canadian senators from Quebec Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada People from Kincardine and Mearns Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Directors of Bank of Montreal Immigrants to Lower Canada

Archives

References