James Gray Turgeon (October 7, 1879 – February 14, 1964) was a broker, soldier, and provincial and federal level politician from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. 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. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

from 1913 to 1921 sitting with the Alberta Liberal caucus in government. During that time he also served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Turgeon had a long career in federal politics. He served as a Member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1947 and he also served as a Canadian Senator from 1947 to his death in 1964 sitting with the federal Liberal caucus in both houses.

Early life

Turgeon was born on October 7, 1879, in Bathurst,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. His father was Onésiphore Turgeon a prominent federal politician. He had one brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

who also became a prominent politician.

Alberta politics

Turgeon ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature for the first time in the

1913 Alberta general election The 1913 Alberta general election was held in March 1913. The writ was dropped on 25 March 1913 and election day was held 17 April 1913 to elect 56 members to the 3rd Alberta Legislature. Elections in two northern districts took place on 30 July ...

as a Liberal candidate. He defeated Conservative candidate William Blair to pick up the new

Ribstone Ribstone is a locality in central Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District (MD) of Wainwright No. 61. It is located approximately south of Highway 14 and southwest of Lloydminster. History Ribstone was settled in 1905 by wagon. Its h ...

electoral district for his party. During the 3rd Legislature, the Assembly passed ''An Act amending The Election Act respecting Members of the Legislative Assembly on Active Service'' (Bill 58) which acclaimed members of the assembly in the 1917 election who were serving in armed forces during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The Act listed eleven members of the assembly and provided those members were deemed nominated and elected as a member of the

4th Alberta Legislature The 4th Alberta Legislative Assembly was in session from February 7, 1918, to June 23, 1921, with the membership of the assembly determined by the results of the 1917 Alberta general election held on June 7, 1917. The Legislature officially resum ...

, effectively being acclaimed in the 1917 election, including James Turgeon, who served as a lieutenant in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

233rd Battalion and later 258th Battalion during the war. Turgeon ran for a third term 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. The Liberal government is replaced by the United Farmers of Alberta. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed gov ...

. He was defeated in a landslide by

United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...

candidate Charles Wright.

World War I

Turgeon enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force while he was still a member of the Alberta Legislature in 1914. He served as a lieutenant in the army until 1918. Turgeon spent two months overseas in England and accompanied Pierre-Édouard Blondin on a ten-day visit to France before returning to Canada. Turgeon was struck from the strength of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on January 21, 1918, for reason of being "Surplus to Requirements".

British Columbia

Turgeon moved to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, he ran for a seat to the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

in the

1933 British Columbia general election The 1933 British Columbia general election was the eighteenth general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on September 13, 193 ...

as a candidate for the British Columbia Liberals in the riding of

Vancouver East Vancouver East () is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Since 2015, it has been represented by New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan. Vancouver East ...

he was defeated only obtaining 16% of the vote and finishing in fourth place out of thirteen candidates. Two years later, Turgeon would run for a seat in the House of Commons of Canada in the

1935 Canadian federal election The 1935 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 1935, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Min ...

as a federal Liberal candidate. He defeated Incumbent John Fraser and three other candidates. Turgeon ran for a second term in the

1940 Canadian federal election The 1940 Canadian federal election was held March 26, 1940, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 19th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal Party was re-elected to their second consec ...

. He won a hotly contested three-way race over Co-operative Commonwealth candidate William Irvine to hold his seat. The 1945 federal election would see Turgeon and Irvine face each other for the second time. This time Turgeon went down to defeat finishing a close second in the four-way race. After his defeat, Turgeon was appointed to the Canadian Senate on the advice of Prime Minister

Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

on January 27, 1947. He designated his senate division as Cariboo, British Columbia. He would serve in the Senate until his death on February 14, 1964.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turgeon, James 1879 births 1964 deaths BC United candidates in British Columbia provincial elections Liberal Party of Canada senators Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Canadian senators from British Columbia 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada