Lieutenant-Colonel James Kennedy "Peace River Jim" Cornwall (October 29, 1869 – November 20, 1955) was a provincial politician from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. He served as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sing ...

from 1909 to 1913 sitting with the Liberal caucus in government.

Business career

Cornwall was a founding member of the Northern Transportation Company which grew out of the

Northern Traders Company The Northern Traders Company was an enterprise engaged in the fur trading business in the north of Canada, with outposts in the Athabasca- Mackenzie River district in Alberta and the Northwest Territories during the early 20th century. They were ...

. He served as the company's first President. The company operated fleets of steamboats and barge-towing tugboats on the Mackenzie River system.

Political career

Cornwall ran as a provincial Liberal candidate in the

1905 Alberta general election The 1905 Alberta general election was the first general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on November 9, 1905, to elect twenty-five members of the Alberta legislature to the 1st Alberta Legislative Assembly, shortly after the prov ...

in the

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River ...

electoral district. He faced independent candidate Lucien Dubuc but was defeated by an unknown number of votes despite being favoured to win. The election results were annulled by the

Executive Council of Alberta The Executive Council of Alberta (the Cabinet) is a body of ministers of the Crown in right of Alberta, who along with the lieutenant governor, exercises the powers of the Government of Alberta. Ministers are selected by the premier and typicall ...

as there were significant irregularities in the vote, and a new writ was ordered. Cornwall ran in the ensuing by-election held on February 16, 1906. This time he faced Independent Liberal candidate Thomas Brick, who easily defeated him. Cornwall was returned to the Alberta Legislature by acclamation in the

1909 Alberta general election The 1909 Alberta general election was the second general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on March 22, 1909, to elect 41 members of the Alberta legislature to the 2nd Alberta Legislature. The incumbent Liberal Party led by Premi ...

and held the seat for a single term, sitting with the Liberals. Cornwall was sued while still a member in the Legislature. On May 13, 1910, he filed his defence in provincial court. Cornwall was named in a lawsuit by Toronto businessman Alfred Hawes, who was looking to recoup more than $250,000 lost in the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Scandal. The same scandal caused the resignation of the entire Rutherford cabinet days later. Cornwall left the Liberal cabinet and sat as an Independent. Cornwall served overseas with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, including command of the 218th Battalion, CEF. While he was in Europe he ran in the

1917 Alberta general election The 1917 Alberta general election was held on 7 June 1917 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The Liberals won a fourth term in office, defeating the Conservative Party of Edward Michener. Because of World War I, eleven M ...

non-partisan soldiers' and nurses' vote. He finished fourth in a large field of candidates. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typi ...

in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

. After the war Cornwall ran in a by-election in the Athabasca district in a 1920 by-election as an independent. He was easily defeated by Alberta Liberal George Mills. He ran again less than a year later in the

1921 Alberta general election The 1921 Alberta general election was held on July 18, 1921, to elect members to the 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed governments. The Liberal Party, which had governed the province since i ...

but was defeated, finishing in 16th place out of the 26 candidates. The Social Credit government under

William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first leader o ...

tried to entice Cornwall to run for a seat under their banner for a by-election in Athabasca, which Cornwall declined.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornwall, James 1861 births 1955 deaths Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Canadian military personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Politicians from Brantford