John Gillanders Turriff
John Gillanders Turriff (14 December 1855 – 10 November 1930) was a Canadian politician, serving as a member of the North-West Council/Assembly, as a Liberal member of the House of Commons (1904-1917) and as a Unionist/Conservative member of the Canadian Senate.
Born in Petit-Métis, Canada East, Turriff as a young man established himself as a farmer in Western Canada, first in Manitoba. After moving to Carlyle (Saskatchewan), he became a successful merchant.[1]
He served as the member for Moose Mountain in the Council of the North West Territories from 1884 to 1888, then as a member of the North-West Territories Assembly, 1888-1891.[2]
A Liberal, he ran for a seat as a Member of Parliament in the Assiniboia East riding in 1891, but was defeated by Conservative candidate Edgar Dewdney. He ran again in the Canadian federal election of 1904 and secured the Assiniboia East seat. He was re-elected in 1908, 1911, and 1917.
In April 1917, he spoke in the House of Commons in favor of electoral reform, proportional representation, and single transferable voting.[3]
During the last years of World War I, Turriff sat as a Liberal-Unionist MP and was a reluctant supporter of the Unionist coalition government led by Conservative Robert Laird Borden.
In recognition of his support and long service, Turriff was appointed on 23 September 1918 to the Senate of Canada on Borden's recommendation, and represented the senatorial division of Assiniboia, Manitoba as a Liberal until his death.
| 1904 Canadian federal election: Assiniboia East | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | John Gillanders Turriff | 3,770 | 55.39 | +3.75 | ||||
| Conservative | J.R. Brigham | 3,036 | 44.61 | –3.75 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 6,806 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | unknown | |||||||
| Turnout | 6,806 | 73.95 | –2.64 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 9,204 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +3.75 | ||||||
| Source: Library of Parliament[4][5] | ||||||||
References
[edit]- ↑ DCB: Turriff, John Gillanders
- ↑ DCB: Turriff, John Gillanders
- ↑ House of Commons debate, April 30, 1917 https://lipad.ca/full/1917/04/30/7/ and https://lipad.ca/full/1917/04/30/8/ accessed 2026-07-02
- ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Assiniboia East, Northwest Territories (1904)". lop.parl.ca.
- ↑ LaMothe, H.G. (1905). Return of the Tenth General Election for the House of Commons of Canada, held on the 27th day of October, 1904, and the 3rd day of November, 1904, followed by a Return of the By elections held during the Ninth Parliament (Report). Ottawa: King's Printer.
External links
[edit]- "John Gillanders Turriff". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
- John Gillanders Turriff – Parliament of Canada biography
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- 1855 births
- 1930 deaths
- Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba
- Liberal Party of Canada MPs
- Liberal Party of Canada senators
- Unionist Party (Canada) MPs
- Canadian senators from Manitoba
- Members of the House of Commons of Canada from the Northwest Territories
- 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
- 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada
- 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada
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