James Clinkskill (May 9, 1853 – August 6, 1936) was a British-Canadian politician and engineer, merchant, author and justice of the peace. He was born in Glasgow, United Kingdom, in 1853.

Early life

Clinkskill was educated at St. Andrews University and

Madras College Madras College, often referred to as Madras, is a Scottish comprehensive secondary school located in St Andrews, Fife. It educates over 1,400 pupils aged between 11 and 18 and was founded in 1833 by the Rev. Dr Andrew Bell. History Madras Col ...

. He worked as a shop keeper in Scotland before emigrating to Canada in 1881. He moved to the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

in 1882. In 1884, he got married.

Political career

Northwest Territories Assembly

Clinkskill was first elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a u ...

, winning the

Battleford Battleford ( 2021 population 4,400) is a town located across the North Saskatchewan River from the city of North Battleford, in Saskatchewan, Canada. Battleford and North Battleford are collectively referred to as "The Battlefords". Although ...

electoral district. He ran in the 1888 Northwest Territories general election and defeated Daniel Livingstone Clink in a hotly contested battle by 24 votes. He would run for a second term in office in the 1891 Northwest Territories general election, slightly increasing his margin of victory. He was re-elected for a third term in the 1894 Northwest Territories general election. After his third term expired in 1898 Clinkskill did not run again for his seat. He returned to territorial politics by running in a by-election held on December 9, 1902. The by-election was held in the

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

electoral district; he won, defeating candidate Benjamin Chubb by 14 votes.

Mayor of Saskatoon

Clinkskill became Mayor of Saskatoon for the first time in 1906. He would serve a second stint as Mayor from 1911 to 1912. In commemoration of his work as mayor, Clinkskill Drive in the neighbourhood of Nutana Park is named in his honour.

Published works

Three books were published about James Clinkskill, written by Arthur Morten and Co authored by Clinkskill himself the books feature his memories about his life in the early days as Mayor of Saskatoon Saskatchewan. *''Reminiscences of a pioneer in Saskatchewan. 1927.'' (Co authored with Arthur Morton) *''Narrative of ex-mayor James Clinkskill. 1927.'' (Co authored with Arthur Morton) *''Narratives of Saskatoon, 1882–1912. 1927.'' (Co authored with Arthur Morton)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinkskill, James 1853 births 1936 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Saskatchewan Mayors of Saskatoon Alumni of the University of St Andrews 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories