James Murdock, (August 15, 1871 – May 15, 1949) 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 ...

politician. Born in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Murdock first ran for 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 the

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 ...

candidate in the 1921 federal election in the Ontario riding of

Toronto South Toronto South was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1935. It was located in the city of Toronto in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. T ...

. Although defeated, he was appointed

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

in the cabinet of

Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

shortly after the election. The current MP in the riding of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Archibald McCoig Archibald Blake McCoig (April 8, 1873 – November 21, 1927) was a Canadian politician. Born in Tilbury East, Ontario, the son of Daniel McCoig, a Scottish immigrant, he was elected as a Liberal candidate to the Legislative Assembly of On ...

, gave up his seat and was appointed 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 ...

in 1922. Murdock was acclaimed to this seat in the resulting 1922

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 ...

. While Minister of Labour in 1923, Murdock was embroiled in controversy after he withdrew funds from the

Home Bank of Canada The Home Bank of Canada was a Canadian bank that was incorporated July 10, 1903 in Toronto. It succeeded the earlier Toronto Savings Bank, which had been founded in 1854 by Bishop Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel and the local chapter of t ...

a day or two before its collapse based on information he obtained as a member of the Cabinet. He was defeated in the 1925 election in the riding of Toronto—High Park and again in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

. In 1930, he was summoned to the Senate representing the

senatorial division Canadian Senate divisions refers to two aspects of the Senate of Canada. First, it refers to the division of Canada into four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators each, as set out in section 22 of the Constitution Act, 1867.The Constitution Act ...

of Parkdale, Ontario on the advice of Prime Minister

. He served until his death in 1949.

References

* 1871 births 1949 deaths Canadian senators from Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada British emigrants to Canada {{Liberal-Ontario-MP-stub