James Emile Pierre Prendergast (March 22, 1858 – April 18, 1945) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. He represented La Verendrye from 1885 to 1888 and Woodlands from 1888 to 1892 and St. Boniface from 1892 to 1896 in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and later Liberal.

Biography

Prendergast was born in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...

, the son of James Pierre Prendergast and Emeline Gauvreau, and was educated at

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

. Prendergast was called to the Quebec bar in 1881. In 1882, he came to Manitoba, was called to the Manitoba bar in 1883 and practised law in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. In 1886, he married Olivina Mondor. He was elected to the Manitoba assembly in an 1885 by-election held after Louis Prud'homme was named a county court judge. Prendergast served in the provincial cabinet as Provincial Secretary. In 1890, he left the cabinet over the

Manitoba Schools Question The Manitoba Schools Question () was a political crisis in the Canadian province of Manitoba that occurred late in the 19th century, attacking publicly-funded separate schools for Roman Catholics and Protestants. The crisis was precipitated by a ...

and joined the opposition. Prendergast was mayor of St. Boniface from 1893 to 1896. He served as president of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society for Manitoba in 1886 and 1910 and for Saskatchewan in 1905 and 1909. Prendergast was a county court judge for the Northern division of the Eastern judicial district of Manitoba from 1897 to 1902; he was a judge in the Supreme Court of the North-West Territories from 1902 to 1906, a judge in the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan from 1906 to 1910 and a judge in the Manitoba Court of King's Bench from 1910 to 1922. He was named to the Manitoba Court of Appeal in 1922. In 1929, he became Chief Justice in the Court of Appeal; he retired from the bench in 1944. Prendergast also served in the Roman Catholic section of the Manitoba Board of Education, the council for the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

and the senate of 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 ...

. Prendergast also published two booklets of poems and served as co-editor of the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

newspaper ''Le Manitoba''. For his contributions to the arts, he was elected to the French Académie des muses santones in Rouen. In 1944, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory by Pope Pius XII. He died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Winnipeg at the age of 87 and was buried in St. Boniface.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prendergast, James E 1858 births 1945 deaths Canadian Roman Catholics Judges in Manitoba Judges in Saskatchewan Knights Commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs Mayors of St. Boniface, Winnipeg Politicians from Quebec City Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba