John Graham McNiven (April 2, 1900 – September 27, 1969) was a mine engineer, mine operator and politician from 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 ...

, Canada. McNiven was a 1923 graduate of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

(M.Sc. in Mining Engineering) and worked for several years in mining camps in Ontario. He first came to

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

in 1938 to work as mill superintendent of Negus Mines Ltd. His family joined him in 1940. Upon the resignation of mine manager Bill Stuart, McNiven was promoted to this position in May 1939 where he remained until the mine closed in 1952. In 1946 he established a chapter of the Grand Lodge of Alberta (

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

), the first lodge in the Northwest Territories. McNiven became the first member of the

Legislative Assembly of 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 ...

from the Arctic; in 1947 he was appointed to the council, for

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

. At that time he was the only member living in the territory to serve. He would serve on the council until it was dissolved for the 1951 general election. In the November 1953 municipal election, in which McNiven ran un-opposed, he became the first mayor of

. The position was effective January 1, 1954 for two years; however, McNiven did not complete his term, resigning in October 1954 to focus on his mine engineering business.The News of the North, October 15, 1954 In 1955, he took the position of mine manager at the

Port Radium Port Radium is a mining area on the eastern shore of Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. It included the settlement of Cameron Bay as well as the Eldorado (also called Port Radium) and Echo Bay mines. The name Port Radium did no ...

or Eldorado uranium mine on Great Bear Lake where he guided the mine to a close in September 1960. McNiven retired from Eldorado Nuclear Limited in 1965, and died at his Salt Springs, British Columbia home in September 1969. A number of local points in Yellowknife are named after him, including Niven Lake, McNiven Beach and Niven Drive. A tug owned by the

Northern Transportation Company Limited Marine Transportation Services (MTS) formerly Northern Transportation Company Limited (NTCL) is a Ship transport, marine transportation company operating primarily in the Mackenzie River watershed of the Northwest Territories and northern Albert ...

, based in the town of Hay River, was also named after him - M/V ''Jock McNiven''.

References

External links

Yellowknife Municipal Council MinutesHistory of the Grand Lodge of Alberta
1900 births 1969 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in the Northwest Territories Mayors of Yellowknife 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories {{NorthwestTerritories-politician-stub