James David Edgar
Encyclopedia
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, KCMG (August 10, 1841 – July 31, 1899) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
In his twenties, Edgar was a law student, legal editor of the Toronto Globe, an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
on Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
, and an organizer for the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He was also rare among English Canadians of the time for his sympathy for the rights of French-Canadians. Edgar was married to Matilda Ridout and together they had nine children.
Born in Hatley
North Hatley, Quebec
North Hatley is a village of 750 people, located at the north end of Lake Massawippi. It is in the county of Stanstead, which is part of the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec, also known as Estrie or Cantons de l'Est in French. It is a haven for...
, Canada East
Canada East
Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canadian Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French-speaking region....
(later Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
), Edgar was educated in Lennoxville and Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. He moved to Toronto as an adult and became a lawyer in 1864. He was elected an alderman in 1866, and was a supporter of George Brown
George Brown (Canadian politician)
George Brown was a Scottish-born Canadian journalist, politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation...
and the Reform Party. He ran as a Liberal
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
in the 1871 Ontario provincial election
Ontario general election, 1871
The Ontario general election of 1871 was the second general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on March 21, 1871, to elect the 82 Members of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
, but was defeated by a margin of four votes in his attempt to win a seat in the provincial legislature.
He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
in the 1872 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1872
The Canadian federal election of 1872 was held from July 20 to October 12, 1872, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 2nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Sir John A...
, and became Whip in the caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
of Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie, PC , a building contractor and newspaper editor, was the second Prime Minister of Canada from November 7, 1873 to October 8, 1878.-Biography:...
. He helped bring down the Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
government over the Pacific Scandal
Pacific Scandal
The Pacific Scandal was a political scandal in Canada involving allegations of bribes being accepted by the Conservative government in the attempts of private interests to influence the bidding for a national rail contract...
. However, despite the election of a Liberal government in the ensuing election, Edgar was defeated in his own riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
.
In 1874, he started a railway company called the Ontario and Pacific Junction Railway
Ontario and Pacific Junction Railway
The Ontario and Pacific Junction Railway is a historic Canadian railway company that was chartered in Ontario. It was a "paper" railway that received a charter for construction but was never built....
. This was an attempt to build a line between Toronto and Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing is a lake in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has a surface area of , a mean elevation of above sea level, and is located between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay. Excluding the Great Lakes, Lake Nipissing is the fifth-largest lake in Ontario. It is relatively shallow for a...
. In 1881, it was renamed the Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie Railway. Both ventures failed to win a contract. Fred Cumberland, a partner in the O&PJR venture, formed a rival company called the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway
Northern and Pacific Junction Railway
The Northern and Pacific Junction Railway is a historic Canadian railway located in northern Ontario.It was constructed in the 1880s to connect the railways of Southern Ontario to the new transcontinental line of the Canadian Pacific Railway , from the Northern Railway of Canada, at Gravenhurst,...
. In 1888, the N&PJR merged with the Grand Trunk Railway
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
.
Edgar was undaunted by these setbacks and in 1889 started a new company called the Belt Line Railway in Toronto. This new venture sought to build a commuter rail line in Toronto connecting downtown with neighbourhoods as far north as Eglinton Avenue
Eglinton Avenue
Eglinton Avenue, originally known as the Richview Sideroad within Etobicoke, is an east-west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Within Toronto, Eglinton Avenue is the only road which crosses through all six former boroughs...
between the Don River
Don River (Toronto)
The Don River is one of two rivers bounding the original settled area of Toronto, Ontario along the shore of Lake Ontario, the other being the Humber River to the west. The Don is formed from two rivers, the East and West Branches, that meet about north of Lake Ontario while flowing southward into...
and the Humber River. Eventually two rail loops were built with 44 stations in total. The railway opened in 1892 but ran for only two years, four months before going bankrupt.
He used his experience to become the Liberal's railway critic
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
when he returned to Parliament (and the Opposition benches) through an 1884 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
.
In the 1880s, Edgar became a vocal opponent of the Protestant Protective Association
Protestant Protective Association
The Protestant Protective Association was an anti-Catholic group in the 1890s based in Ontario, Canada, associated with the Orange Order. Originally a spinoff of the American group the American Protective Association, it became independent in 1892...
, an anti-Catholic political party associated with the Ontario Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
. He argued in favour of tolerance and cooperation between English and French Canadians as well as between Protestants and Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s. He also argued against the concept of Imperial Federation
Imperial Federation
Imperial Federation was a late-19th early-20th century proposal to create a federated union in place of the existing British Empire.-Motivators:...
, for greater Canadian independence from Britain, and in favour of reciprocity
Reciprocity (Canadian politics)
In nineteenth and early twentieth century Canadian politics, the term reciprocity was used to describe the concept of free trade with the United States of America...
with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
When the Liberals formed a government under Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
following the 1896 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1896
The Canadian federal election of 1896 was held on June 23, 1896 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Canada. Though the Conservative Party won a plurality of the popular vote, the Liberal Party, led by Wilfrid Laurier, won the majority of seats to form the...
, Edgar was nominated to become Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
, and was given a knighthood by Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. Edgar was in poor health, however, and died in 1899 prior to the end of this term.
External links
- Russell, C.H. 1996. Tightening the belt: a history of the Toronto Belt Line Railway. City of Toronto Archives