James Colebrooke Patterson

James Colebrooke Patterson, PC (1839 – February 17, 1929) was a Canadian politician. He served as a federal cabinet minister from 1892 to 1895 and as the sixth Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1895 to 1900.

The Honourable James Colebrooke Patterson PC
6th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
In office September 2, 1895 – October 9, 1900
Monarch	Victoria
Governors General	The Earl of Aberdeen The Earl of Minto
Premier	Thomas Greenway Hugh John Macdonald
Preceded by	John Christian Schultz
Succeeded by	Daniel Hunter McMillan
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Huron West
In office 1892–1895
Preceded by	Malcolm Colin Cameron
Succeeded by	Malcolm Colin Cameron
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Essex North
In office 1882–1891
Preceded by	Electoral district was created
Succeeded by	William McGregor
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Essex
In office 1878–1882
Preceded by	William McGregor
Succeeded by	Electoral district was abolished
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
In office January 18, 1875 – September 3, 1878
Preceded by	Electoral district created
Succeeded by	Solomon White
Constituency	Essex North
Personal details
Born	1839 Armagh, Ireland
Died	February 17, 1929 (aged 89–90)
Political party	Conservative
Other political affiliations	Conservative Party of Ontario
Cabinet	Secretary of State of Canada (1892) Minister of Militia and Defence (1892-1895) Minister Without Portfolio (1895)

Early life

Patterson was born to a Protestant family in Armagh, Ireland, and was educated at Dublin. He moved to Canada in 1857 and entered the civil service, though he later resigned. He subsequently trained in law and was called to the bar in 1876.

Political career

Patterson settled in the Windsor area and held a number of local offices (including a ten-year term as reeve of Windsor). In 1875, he was elected to the Ontario legislature as a Conservative, defeating independent candidate L. Montreuil by 1209 votes to 755 in the riding of Essex North.

In 1878, Patterson resigned his provincial seat to run for the federal House of Commons. He was elected in the riding of Essex, defeating Liberal William McGregor by 2596 votes to 2318.

Patterson became a backbench supporter of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald's government and was re-elected in the federal riding of Essex North in 1882 and 1887. On the former occasion, he defeated J.A. Kilroy by 1714 votes to 1022. On the latter, he defeated Liberal Francis Cleary by 2301 votes to 2165. He also served as president of the Ontario Conservative Union during a part of his time in parliament.

Patterson was defeated in the federal election of 1891, losing to William McGregor by 2892 votes to 2043. In spite of this, he was subsequently called into the cabinet of John Abbott, who became prime minister following Macdonald's death following the 1891 election. He was sworn in as Secretary of State of Canada on January 25, 1892, and was re-elected to parliament on February 22 (defeating Liberal Malcolm Colin Cameron by 25 votes in a Huron West by-election).

When John S.D. Thompson replaced Abbott as prime minister in late 1892, Patterson was transferred to the Ministry of Militia and Defence. He held this position until March 26, 1895 (aside from a nine-day gap in December 1894), having been retained in the position when Mackenzie Bowell replaced Thompson in mid-1894. He sought to bolster Canada's defensive capabilities and oversaw the construction of fortifications in Esquimalt, British Columbia. After stepping down from his ministry in March 1895, he served as a minister without portfolio.

Patterson resigned from cabinet entirely on September 1, 1895, to be sworn in as the new Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. This was a period of upheaval in Manitoba's political culture, as the Manitoba Schools Question was in the last stages of its ongoing legal challenges. Patterson was responsible for overseeing the end of most state funding for Catholic and francophone schools, although it is not clear that he played a significant role in the matter. The lieutenant governor's position was largely ceremonial by this time. Patterson does not appear to have re-entered political life when his term ended in 1900.

In addition to his political career, Patterson was also involved in journalism. He was the founder of Canadian Magazine, a work meant to showcase Canada's literary culture.

Legacy

Patterson is commemorated by Paterson Street in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

J. C. Patterson Collegiate Institute in Windsor, Ontario was named after him.

Electoral history

1875 Ontario general election: Essex North
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	James Colebrooke Patterson	1,209	61.56
	Independent	Luc Montrieul	755	38.44
Turnout			1,964	54.37
Eligible voters			3,612
	Conservative pickup new district.
Source: Elections Ontario

External links

• James Colebrooke Patterson – Parliament of Canada biography
• Ontario Parliamentary History Archived 28 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
• Manitoba Historical Society profile