James Edwin Robertson
{{Short description|Canadian politician (1840-1915)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = The Hon.
| name = James Edwin Robertson
| honorific-suffix =
| image = James Edwin Robertson.png
| office = Senator for Prince Edward Island
| appointed = Wilfrid Laurier
| term_start = 1902
| term_end = 1915
| birth_date = {{birth date|1840|10|8}}
| birth_place = New Perth, Prince Edward Island
| death_date = {{death date and age|1915|10|30|1840|10|8}}
| death_place =
| nationality =
| spouse =
| party = Liberal
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater =
| occupation =
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| religion =
}}
James Edwin Robertson (October 8, 1840 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian physician and politician.
He was born in New Perth, Prince Edward Island, as the son of Peter Robertson and Annie McFarlane. Robertson received his education at McGill University where he graduated with honors in 1865. After his graduation, he established a successful medical practice in Montague, Prince Edward Island.
In 1870, Robertson was acclaimed to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island for 4th Kings district. He was re-elected in 1876 but faced defeat in 1879. However, he was re-elected in 1882. During his tenure, he served as a Minister Without Portfolio in the cabinets of Robert Poore Haythorne and Louis Henry Davies.
In the 1882 election, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada, representing King's County.
Unseating
In 1883, he was declared not duly elected on the grounds that he was a member of the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly at the time of the election, which violated the law prohibiting dual mandates. Shortly after winning his federal seat, he had submitted his resignation notice from the provincial legislature to two fellow MLAs, Malcolm McFadyen and Peter McLaren, in accordance with the process for resigning from the legislature, and the legislature had already held a by-election to replace him.Journals of the House of Commons of the Dominion of Canada, Volume 17. MacLean, Roger & Co., 1883. However, a procedural error by McFadyen and McLaren had left the resignation not properly registered, thus leaving his provincial office technically double-seated and his eligibility for federal office in doubt. While several Canadian provinces did at the time allow people to simultaneously hold seats in both the provincial and federal legislatures, Prince Edward Island had enacted a law explicitly disallowing this.
The federal committee adjudicating the matter was dominated by the governing Conservative Party, whereas Robertson was a Liberal. The committee ruled that his resignation from the provincial legislature was not valid, and voted to unseat Robertson; rather than holding a by-election, the committee directly awarded the seat to Augustine Macdonald, the Conservative candidate whom Robertson had defeated in the federal election.
Senate appointment
In 1902, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Wilfrid Laurier, representing the senatorial division of Prince Edward Island. He served in the Senate until April 1915.
{{1891 Canadian federal election/King's County}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=4710}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=Augustine Macdonald
Ephraim Bell Muttart}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for King's County
with Peter Adolphus McIntyre |years=1882–1883}}
{{s-aft|after=Peter A. McIntyre
Augustine Macdonald}}
{{s-bef|before=Peter A. McIntyre
Augustine Macdonald}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for King's County
with Peter Adolphus McIntyre |years=1887–1891}}
{{s-aft|after=John McLean
Augustine Macdonald}}
{{end}}
This article incorporates text from [https://archive.org/details/canadianalbummen03cochuoft The Canadian album: men of Canada, Vol. 3], a publication now in the public domain.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, James}}
Category:Politicians from Kings County, Prince Edward Island
Category:Canadian senators from Prince Edward Island
Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Category:Liberal Party of Canada senators
Category:McGill University alumni
Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Prince Edward Island
Category:Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs
Category:19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
Category:19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada