James Sinclair, (May 26, 1908 – February 7, 1984) was a Canadian politician and businessman. He was the maternal grandfather of current Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

Early life

Sinclair was born in Crossroads, Grange, Banffshire, Scotland, the son of James George Sinclair (March 9, 1879; Wick, Scotland – March 18, 1962;

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

) and Betsy Sinclair née Ross (December 12, 1878; Evanton, Scotland – September 18, 1959; Vancouver). He moved to Vancouver with his family in 1911 where his father, who had already immigrated a year earlier, was among the founders of

Vancouver Technical Secondary School Vancouver Technical Secondary School, often referred to as Van Tech, is a public secondary school located on the East Side of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver Technical currently offers Advanced Placement, Summit, Flex Humanities, a ...

, the area's first

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the task ...

, and served as the school's second principal from 1930 until 1944. Sinclair studied engineering at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

and was awarded a Rhodes scholarship in 1928 to study mathematics at St John's College, in the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He also studied mathematical physics at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he served with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

in North Africa,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

as a squadron leader.

Career

He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada representing the riding of

Vancouver North Vancouver North was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1949. This riding was created in 1924 from parts of Burrard and Comox—Alberni ridings. A redi ...

in the 1940 federal election. A

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, he was re-elected in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

in the riding of Vancouver North, and in 1949,

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

, and

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

in the riding of Coast-Capilano. He was defeated in the 1958 federal election. From 1949 to 1952, he was the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance. From 1952 to 1957, he was the Minister of Fisheries. From 1958 to 1960, he was the President of Fisheries Association of British Columbia. From 1960 to 1970, he was president and Chairman of Lafarge Cement of North America. He was also a director of the Bank of Montreal and of Canadian Industries limited. He took part in the economic mission headed by Charles Drury with people such as

Paul Desmarais Paul Desmarais Sr. (January 4, 1927 – October 8, 2013) was a Canadian financier and philanthropist, based in Montreal. With an estimated family net worth of US$4.5 billion (as of March 2012), Desmarais was ranked by ''Forbes'' as the fou ...

, Yves Dubé, Marcel Faribeault to France in June 1966. From 1970 to 1973 he was Deputy Chairman of Canada Cement Lafarge Limited. In 1978, according to testimony in the trial of four murdered teenagers, their killings were part of a failed attempted scheme to kidnap four prominent Vancouver-area families including James Sinclair's.

Personal life

Sinclair was married in Saint Stephen's Anglican Church, West Vancouver on November 2, 1940 to Doris Kathleen Bernard (February 11, 1920;

Penticton, British Columbia Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration population w ...

– March 29, 2012;

Saanich, British Columbia Saanich ( ) is a district municipality on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, within the Greater Victoria area. The population was 117,735 at the 2021 census, making it the most populous municipality in the Capital Regional District and V ...

). They had of five daughters. His fourth daughter was Margaret Joan Trudeau née Sinclair, one-time wife of the 15th

Canadian Prime Minister 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 of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...

Pierre Trudeau and mother of 23rd and current Canadian Prime Minister

Alexandre Trudeau Alexandre Emmanuel "Sacha" Trudeau (born December 25, 1973) is a Canadian filmmaker, journalist and author of ''Barbarian Lost''. He is the second son of Canada's former prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, and Margaret Trudeau, and the younger brot ...

and

Michel Trudeau Michel Charles-Émile Trudeau (October 2, 1975 – November 13, 1998) was the youngest son of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau and the younger brother of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He died in an avalan ...

. Many, including Jean Chrétien and Justin Trudeau himself, have noted the family resemblance in physical appearance between Sinclair and Justin Trudeau. Sinclair is also the

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

of both Justin Trudeau (whose middle name is James) and Xavier James Trudeau, son of Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau. He died in 1984 of a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

at his home in

West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...

. The Sinclair Centre, a shopping complex in

downtown Vancouver Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north shor ...

, is named after him.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, James 1908 births 1984 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Businesspeople from Vancouver 20th-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian Rhodes Scholars Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Banff, Aberdeenshire Politicians from Vancouver Princeton University alumni British emigrants to Canada University of British Columbia Faculty of Applied Science alumni Trudeau political family Royal Canadian Air Force officers Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II