James Sinclair (politician)
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James Sinclair | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Fisheries | |
| In office 15 October 1952 – 21 June 1957 | |
| Prime Minister | Louis St. Laurent |
| Preceded by | Robert Mayhew |
| Succeeded by | Angus MacLean |
| Member of Parliament for Coast-Capilano | |
| In office 27 June 1949 – 30 March 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Riding created |
| Succeeded by | William Hector Payne |
| Member of Parliament for Vancouver North | |
| In office 26 March 1940 – 26 June 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Grant MacNeil |
| Succeeded by | Riding dissolved |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 May 1908 |
| Died | 7 February 1984 (aged 75) West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Party | Liberal |
| Spouse |
Doris Kathleen Bernard
(m. 1940) |
| Children | 5, including Margaret |
| Relatives | Trudeau family |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Civil Engineer |
James Sinclair PC (26 May 1908 – 7 February 1984) was a British-born Canadian politician and businessman. He was the maternal grandfather of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Sinclair was born in Grange,[1] the son of James George Sinclair[2] and Betsy Sinclair (née Ross).[3][4] He moved to Vancouver with his family in 1911 where his father, who had already immigrated a year earlier, was among the founders of Vancouver Technical Secondary School, the area's first vocational school, and served as the school's second principal from 1930 until 1944.[5] Sinclair studied engineering at the University of British Columbia and was awarded a Rhodes scholarship in 1928 to study mathematics at St John's College,[6] in the University of Oxford. He also studied mathematical physics at Princeton University. During World War II, he served with the Royal Canadian Air Force in North Africa, Malta, and Sicily as a squadron leader.[7]
Career
He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada representing the riding of Vancouver North in the 1940 federal election. A Liberal, he was re-elected in 1945 in the riding of Vancouver North, and in 1949, 1953, and 1957 in the riding of Coast-Capilano. He was defeated in the 1958 federal election. From 1949 to 1952, he was the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance. From 1952 to 1957, he was the Minister of Fisheries.[citation needed] He was one of the first to make a mission to Soviet Union, that was in 1955. At that occasion he was injured.At that occasion he invited Alexander Ishkov, his soviet colleague, to visit Canada in 1956.
From 1958 to 1960, he was the President of Fisheries Association of British Columbia. From 1960 to 1970, he was president and Chairman of Lafarge Cement of North America. He was also a director of the Bank of Montreal and of Canadian Industries limited. He took part in the economic mission headed by Charles Drury with people such as Paul Desmarais, Yves Dubé, Marcel Faribeault to France in June 1966. From 1970 to 1973 he was Deputy Chairman of Canada Cement Lafarge Limited. In 1978, according to testimony in the trial of four murdered teenagers, their killings were part of a failed attempted scheme to kidnap four prominent Vancouver-area families including James Sinclair's.[8]