Jacob "Jake" Benson (March 13, 1892 – August 23, 1987) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

-born farmer and politician in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. He represented Last Mountain in the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

from 1929 to 1934 as a Progressive Party member and from 1938 to 1952 as a

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...

(CCF) member. He was born in

Calder Bridge Calder Bridge (also Calderbridge) is a small village in Cumbria in England. It is located between the hamlets of Gosforth and Beckermet and lies on the River Calder. It is around 1 mile northeast from the Sellafield nuclear plant—Calde ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, the son of Jacob Benson and Letitia Barwise, and came to Canada with his parents in 1903. The family settled on a

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...

near

Last Mountain Lake Last Mountain Lake, also known as Long Lake, is a prairie lake formed from Last Glacial Period, glaciation 11,000 years ago. It is located in south central Saskatchewan, Canada, about north-west of the city of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina. I ...

. Benson studied at the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

but did not graduate, instead turning to farming. In 1918, he married Hilda Ferris. He farmed near Semans. Benson was defeated when he ran for reelection to the provincial assembly in 1934 as a Farmer-Labour Group candidate. The following year, he was defeated when he ran as a CCF candidate in the

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about north-west of Winnipeg and south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. Yorkton was founded in 1882 and incorporated as a city in 1928. ...

federal riding. He returned to the provincial legislature in the 1938 election as a CCF member. In 1950, after voting against the government on a number of issues, he left the CCF and sat as an independent in the assembly. Benson was defeated by Russell Brown when he ran for reelection as an independent in 1952. After leaving politics, he returned to farming, retiring in 1964. He then moved to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

where he died on August 23, 1987.British Columbia Registration of Death
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References

Progressive Party of Saskatchewan MLAs Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs 1892 births 1987 deaths 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan {{CCF-Saskatchewan-MLA-stub