James "Merchant Prince" Ramsey (April 4, 1864 – December 23, 1939) was a provincial politician and business man from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada.

Early life

Ramsey was born in 1864 in

Imlay City Imlay City is a city in Lapeer County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,869 at the 2000 census and 3,585 at the 2020 census. History Imlay City was founded on April 1, 1850 by Charles Palmer, the chief engineer of the Port Huro ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He was raised in Plattsville,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. He began his career working as a merchandiser in his home town. He ended up traveling all over eastern North America eventually apprenticing under his father at his retail store in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

. He moved west to Edmonton in 1910 and founded his own department store.

Business career

Ramsey founded and owned a popular department store in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

titled ''James Ramsey Ltd.'' His store specialized in food, clothing, prescription drug and stationary. Ramsey remained in business until 1928 when he sold his store and merchandise to the T. Eaton Company. In 1929 Ramsey founded an investment company called Ramsey Hunt and Ramsey Limited. He retired a year later and moved to the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

Political career

Ramsey began his political career on the municipal level. He ran for Alderman in the 1914 Edmonton municipal election. He served his two-year term in office before seeking election on the provincial level. Ramsey was elected to 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 ...

in the

1917 Alberta general election The 1917 Alberta general election was held on 7 June 1917 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The Liberals won a fourth term in office, defeating the Conservative Party of Edward Michener. Because of World War I, eleven Me ...

. He won the electoral district of

Edmonton East Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

. He won the hotly contested election defeating three other candidates included future Edmonton Mayor Joseph Clarke. Ramsay would become the leader of the Conservative Party after George Hoadley resigned and crossed the floor to the

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 ...

. Ramsey led the party for a year until 1921 when

Albert Ewing Albert Freeman Ewing (June 29, 1871 – August 26, 1946) was a provincial politician and judge from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1913 to 1921 sitting with the Conservative caucus in oppositio ...

took over as leader. He did not run in the 1921 Alberta general election and retired from provincial politics. Ramsey returned to municipal politics with a bid to become mayor of Edmonton in the 1923 Edmonton municipal election. He was handily defeated by

Kenny Blatchford Kenneth Alexander Blatchford (March 5, 1882 – April 20, 1933) was a Canadian politician who served as both mayor of Edmonton, Alberta and a member of the House of Commons of Canada. Early life Kenny Blatchford was born in Minnedosa, Manito ...

. This was his last bid at politics.

Late life and legacy

Ramsey had two wives and fathered two daughters and a son. The Kelly and Ramsey building in downtown Edmonton is named in his honor. Ramsay died in his Bahamas home in December 1939 at the age of 75.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members ListingEdmonton Public Library Biography of James Ramsey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsey, James Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Edmonton city councillors 1864 births 1939 deaths Canadian people of Scottish descent American emigrants to Canada People from Imlay City, Michigan