20 Facts About James Conmee

James Conmee was an Ontario businessman and political figure.

James Conmee represented Algoma West from 1885 to 1902 and Port Arthur and Rainy River from 1902 to 1904 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and Thunder Bay and Rainy River in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1911 as a Liberal member.

James Conmee was born in Sydenham Township, Canada West in 1848, the son of Irish immigrants Matthew Conmee and Rosanna O'Shaughnessey, the youngest of four children.

James Conmee was a contractor involved in laying track for the Canadian Pacific Railway in northern Ontario, later working on contracts for the Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway, Algoma Central Railway and other railways in the region.

James Conmee served as first President of the Ontario Mining Institute.

James Conmee fought and eventually won a lawsuit launched against him and his partner John Donald McLennan by the Canadian Pacific Railway for defrauding the company on their Michipicoten contract.

In 1879, James Conmee was elected to the municipal council representing Prince Arthur's Landing ward in the Municipality of Shuniah.

James Conmee was elected to represent Algoma West in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and won every subsequent provincial election until 1904 when he switched to federal politics.

James Conmee ran unsuccessfully in 1896 for the Nipissing seat in the House of Commons before being elected in 1904 on a platform of supporting Sir Wilfrid Laurier's transcontinental railway policy which would bring enormous benefits to his constituency.

In 1911, James Conmee retired from politics due to poor health related to tuberculosis and kidney afflictions.

The younger and more dynamic John James Conmee Carrick was sure to win the seat for the Conservatives.

James Conmee died in Prescott, Arizona in 1913 and was buried at Port Arthur.

James Conmee wrote the lyrics to a patriotic song, The national flag, with music by Henry Herbert Godfrey.

Mr James Conmee was an adventurer, entrepreneur, social advocate, and inventor.

James Conmee attempted to introduce the first telephone system to the Head of the Lakes James Conmee understood the potential of hydro electric power long before it became common.

James Conmee worked long into the night almost every night in a locked laboratory on various gadgets and inventions including the calculating weighscale.

James Conmee purchased Nun's Island near Montreal on sight recognizing the potential of the Lachine Rapids for hydro electricity.

James Conmee explicitly requested and was given title to all the waters that fed into the Falls and Rapids in order to protect the potential hydro development.

James Conmee provided or arranged all funding for the construction of the hospital.

James Conmee was able to secure federal funding to support the development of the Port Arthur harbour which played an important role in the later development of the city's economy.