James MacKerras Macdonnell, (December 15, 1884 – July 27, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and parliamentarian.

Biography

He was born in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

, the son of George W. Macdonnell and Mary Louise Philips, he was a Master at St. Andrew's College from 1904 to 1914 before becoming a trust company officer. He enlisted with the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

on September 24, 1914 at

Valcartier, Quebec Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), now re-designated 2 Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, north northwest of Quebe ...

. He was awarded an MC in the

1917 Birthday Honours The 1917 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

Career

Macdonnell was first elected to 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 ...

as a Progressive Conservative Party candidate in the 1945 federal election representing

Muskoka—Ontario Muskoka—Ontario was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1949. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1924 from parts of Muskoka and Ontario North ridings. It ...

riding. He was defeated in the 1949 federal election, but returned to parliament later that year when he won 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 in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

riding of Greenwood. Following the 1957 federal election that returned the first Progressive Conservative government and the first Tory government since the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the new

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

, named Macdonnell to

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

as a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

. He resigned from Cabinet on August 8, 1959 for health reasons and was defeated in the 1962 federal election by

Andrew Brewin Francis Andrew Brewin (September 3, 1907 – September 21, 1983) was a lawyer and Canadian politician and Member of Parliament. He was the grandson of Liberal cabinet minister Andrew George Blair. His son John Brewin also served in the House ...

of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

. Macdonnell was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with ...

in 1967 for "services as a parliamentarian".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonnell, James 1884 births 1973 deaths Companions of the Order of Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian Army officers Canadian recipients of the Military Cross People from Kingston, Ontario