James Dunsmuir | |
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| 14th Premier of British Columbia | |
| In office June 15, 1900 – November 21, 1902 | |
| Monarchs | Victoria Edward VII |
| Lieutenant Governor | Thomas Robert McInnes Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière |
| Preceded by | Joseph Martin |
| Succeeded by | Edward Gawler Prior |
| 8th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia | |
| In office May 11, 1906 – December 3, 1909 | |
| Monarch | Edward VII |
| Governor General | The Earl Grey |
| Premier | Richard McBride |
| Preceded by | Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Wilson Paterson |
| MLA forComox | |
| In office July 9, 1898 – June 9, 1900 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Hunter |
| Succeeded by | Lewis Alfred Mounce |
| MLA forSouth Nanaimo | |
| In office June 9, 1900 – October 3, 1903 | |
| Preceded by | Ralph Smith |
| Succeeded by | district abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1851-07-08)July 8, 1851 |
| Died | June 6, 1920(1920-06-06) (aged 68) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | No party affiliation |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 sons and 9 daughters |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | Virginia Tech |
| Occupation | Industrialist and politician |
James Dunsmuir (July 8, 1851 – June 6, 1920) was aCanadian industrialist and politician inBritish Columbia. He served as the 14thpremier of British Columbia from 1900 to 1902 and the eighthlieutenant governor of British Columbia from 1906 to 1909.
Son ofRobert Dunsmuir, he was heir to his family's coal fortune. The Dunsmuir family dominated the province's economy in the late nineteenth century and was a leading force in opposingorganized labour. Dunsmuir managed his family's coal business from 1876 until 1910, increasing profits and violently putting down efforts to unionize.
In 1905, he sold hisEsquimalt and Nanaimo Railway to theCanadian Pacific Railway. In 1910, he sold his coal mining companies, Union Colliery of British Columbia and R. Dunsmuir & Sons, to Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Ltd (CCD).
In the 42 years that the Dunsmuirs owned the collieries, they never recognized their employees' attempts to unionize or create better working conditions. Dunsmuir used threats, spies, blacklists andscab labour to break strikes. When he could not break a strike with scab labour, he used his influence to have the provincial government call in the militia.[1] Dunsmuir stated to a royal commission, "I object to all unions...They simply take the management of the mine...I want the management of my own works, and if I recognize the union, I cannot have that."[2]
Dunsmuir provoked further rage when he ordered workers to relocate their homes at a new pit.[1] Workers also resented low wages and the dangerous conditions that Dunsmuir imposed upon them.[2] Mine owners at the time regularly ignored safety and sanitary conditions, and provincial inspectors were slow to bring them to justice.[3]
Dunsmuir contributed to the mines of British Columbia being among the most dangerous in the world. Between 1889 and 1908, twenty-three men were killed in the production of every million tons of BC coal; the average for North America as a whole was six deaths per million tons.[2] In 1901, while serving as Premier, many men perished in his collieries.[4]
Dunsmuir entered provincial politics in 1898, winning aseat in the provinciallegislature, and he became the14thPremier in 1900. His government attempted to resist popular pressure to curtail Asian labour andimmigration, not for humanitarian reasons, but to ensure a cheap labour pool for business. It also promoted railway construction and accomplished a redistribution of seats to better represent population distribution in the province.
Dunsmuir visited England and the United States in 1902,[5] but disliked politics after his return and resigned as Premier in November 1902. In 1906, he became the province'seighthLieutenant Governor. He retired in 1909 and lived out his remaining years at the baronial mansion that he had constructed atHatley Park.[6]
Dunsmuir founded the town ofLadysmith, British Columbia. Hatley Castle, the Edwardian mansion and gardens where he spent his last years is now a Classified Federal Heritage Building[7] on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.[6][8]
One of his daughters, Jessie Muriel, married, as her first husband, thecouturierEdward Molyneux. His second-born son, James A. Dunsmuir Jr., died in the sinking of theRMS Lusitania in 1915. His last child,Dola Dunsmuir, married Lieutenant-Commander Henry Cavendish and was rumored to beTallulah Bankhead's lover.[9]
He is interred in theRoss Bay Cemetery inVictoria, British Columbia.
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