James Reid (August 2, 1839 – May 3, 1904) was a Canadian entrepreneur and parliamentarian from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Reid was born in Wakefield, Lower Canada, the son of James Reid and Ann Maxwell, and was educated in Hull, Quebec and Ottawa. He moved to British Columbia in 1862, with a cousin, nearly perishing on the trip to the northern Cariboo region. Reid eventually prospered as a miner and established his own business empire in Quesnellemouth (now Quesnel). In 1883, he married Charlotte Clarke. Reid's business included saw and flour mills, mining operations, riverboat construction and the main general store in Quesnel. Reid owned his own riverboat, the ''

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

'' which was one of the main supply vessels into the area. Reid was elected to

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Cariboo as a

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

in an 1881

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 ...

on the death of incumbent MP

Joshua Spencer Thompson Joshua Spencer Thompson (1828 – December 20, 1880) was a Canadian journalist and politician. Born in Belfast, Ireland, Thompson emigrated to British Columbia in 1858. Thompson was a journalist and accountant prior to becoming an MP. A Li ...

. He was acclaimed in the following federal election and re-elected in

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl ...

. Prime Minister Macdonald appointed Reid to the Senate in 1888. He held that office until his death in

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 ...

in 1904.

References

External links

Photograph of Reid’s general store from virtualmuseum.caPhotograph of Reid’s flour mill from virtualmuseum.ca
1839 births 1904 deaths Canadian senators from British Columbia Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-politician-stub