James Joseph McCann, (March 29, 1886 – April 11, 1961) 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

Perth, Ontario Perth is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Tay River, southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County. History The town was established as a military settlement in 1816, shortly after the War of 1812. The settleme ...

, son of John A. McCann, a mason and licence-inspector, and Mary Hourigan, who were both of Irish descent. Although he consistently reported his own birth-date as March 29, 1887, he was in fact born exactly one year earlier, and was originally named as James Parnell McCann. His birth registration gives this name in full, with the 1886 date, the entry for his parents' household in the 1901 census gives his name as James P. McCann and likewise supports the 1886 date, and the record of his first marriage in 1913 calls him James Parnell McCann. There is no possible doubt that the politician was the James Parnell McCann born in 1886, as his parents and wives are named in two different biographical dictionaries published during his own lifetime. It is possible he came to be known as James ''Joseph'' McCann following the early death of a younger brother named Joseph, born in 1895.Lanark County birth registrations, 1895, no. 016137 (Archives of Ontario); the precise date of death of this brother has not been found, but he was surely dead by 1911, as the census of that year does not show him in the household of his widowed father. McCann took M.D. and C.M. degrees from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, in 1909 (graduating with the gold medal) and a post-graduate degree in medicine from the University of Chicago in 1911. Prior to entering political life, he practiced as a physician at Hamilton and at Renfrew, Ontario, serving for more than thirty years as Coroner for Renfrew County. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada representing the riding of

Renfrew South Renfrew South was a federal riding represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. The federal riding was created by the British North America Act of 1867 and was abolished in 1966, w ...

in the 1935 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

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

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, ...

, 1949, and

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 ...

. He was defeated in

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 ...

. He held the following ministerial positions in the cabinets of Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent: Minister of National War Services,

Minister of National Revenue The minister of national revenue (french: ministre du revenu national) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), as well as the administration of taxation law and collection. T ...

, and Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys. His death notice in the ''Daily Star'' states, "As finance minister in the immediate post-war years, he was charged with the responsibility of re-settling Canada's economy and was one of the first officials to warn of the danger of too-close economic ties with the U.S." His death notice in the ''Globe and Mail'' states, "As Revenue Minister he watched Government income soar to record peacetime levels and took a personal interest in the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, which he had helped reorganize in 1941.... During his political career Dr. McCann was an early advocate in the Liberal Party for government health programs, many of which later became realities." McCann was twice married, but had no children.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCann, James Joseph 1886 births 1961 deaths Canadian people of Irish descent Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Perth, Ontario Canadian coroners