John Jones Ross (August 16, 1831 – May 4, 1901) was a Canadian politician. Ross served as the seventh

premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the ...

and later as a member of 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 ...

Personal life

Ross was born in

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 ...

, Canada. He was the son of a

Scots-Quebecer Scots-Quebecers () are Quebecers who are of Scottish descent. Background Few Scots came to Quebec (then New France) before the Seven Years' War. Those who did blended in with the French population. Perhaps the first Scot to settle was Abra ...

merchant, George McIntosh Ross, and his

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

wife Sophie-Éloïse Gouin.

Political career

Province of Canada Assembly

Ross belonged to the

Parti bleu The Blue Party (french: Parti bleu) was a political group that contested elections in the Eastern section of the Province of Canada. The Blue Party was ideologically located on the political right, and was defined by its support for the Catholi ...

and 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 the district of Champlain in 1861. He was re-elected in 1863 and served until

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

Provincial politics

Ross was elected to the newly established

Legislative Assembly of Quebec The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...

for the district of Champlain in

, but resigned only a few months later to become a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Member of the

Legislative Council of Quebec The Legislative Council of Quebec (French; ''Conseil législatif du Québec'') was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec from 1867 to 1968. The Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Legislative Assem ...

for

Shawinigan Shawinigan () is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,349 as of the 2016 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) an ...

. From 1873 to 1874, 1876 to 1878 and 1879 to 1882, Ross served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the Legislative Council, of whom he remained a member until his death in 1901. He was

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 ...

from 1876 to 1878 and from 1879 to 1881, as well as the seventh Premier of Quebec from January 23, 1884, to January 25, 1887,

Federal politics

Ross successfully ran as a

candidate for the district of Champlain in the 1872 federal election, but did not run for re-election in the

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

. He was appointed to the

for the Division of La Durantaye in 1887 and served as

of that institution from 1891 to

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

. Ross also was

in the federal Cabinet for a couple of months in 1896.

Elections as party leader

He lost the 1886 provincial election as Leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec but remained in power in a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

until he resigned on January 25, 1887. He died in 1901 in

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, John Jones 1831 births 1901 deaths Politicians from Quebec City Canadian senators from Quebec Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Presidents of the Legislative Council of Quebec Conservative Party of Quebec MLCs Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Premiers of Quebec Conservative Party of Quebec MNAs Speakers of the Senate of Canada Quebec political party leaders Canadian people of Scottish descent Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East