James McShane

James McShane ( born November 7, 1833 in Montreal, † December 14, 1918 ) was a Canadian politician and businessman. From 1891 to 1893 he was mayor of the city of Montreal, 1878-1892 Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1895 to 1896 and member of the Canadian House of Commons (Liberal Party).

Biography

From the age of 18 years, McShane worked with his father as a cattle dealer. Her clients included the Allan Line and stationed in Montreal British troops. From 1870 to 1874 McShane worked as a trader on the Montreal Exchange, then as a meat exporter. Already in 1863 he was appointed Justice of the Peace. In 1868 he was elected to the Montreal city council, where he served until 1881 and from 1883 to 1887. As a candidate of the Parti libéral du Québec in 1878, he ran successfully for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. After nearly a decade as an opposition politician, he was in the years 1887 and 1888 the Cabinet of Honoré Mercier and served as Minister of Agriculture and Public Works.

In the Montreal mayoral elections of 1891 McShane was up against Amtshinhaber Jacques Grenier and hit it with more than 5,000 -vote lead. During his tenure, the electrification of the tram network falls, but he had to put up with even the accusation of having taken no action against three corrupt city councilors or to have been at all involved in their machinations. Because of this scandal, he was defeated in 1893 Alphonse Desjardins. A year later, he joined again in the mayoral elections and lost to Joseph- Octave Villeneuve. In December 1895 McShane decided as a candidate of the Liberal Party a by-election for a seat in the Canadian House of itself, but was voted out after only half a year at the general election in 1896.

After the end of his political career, McShane turned back to the business. From 1900 to 1912 he served as harbor master. Under his leadership, the Port of Montreal to the modern in the country and the leading location of shipbuilding developed.