James Aubrey Simmons Explained

James Simmons
Riding:Yukon
Predecessor:George Black
Successor:Erik Nielsen
Term Start:June 27, 1949
Term End:June 10, 1957
Birth Name:James Aubrey Simmons
Birth Date:1897 7, mf=yes
Birth Place:Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada
Death Place:West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Spouse:[1]
Profession:Notary
Party:Liberal

James Aubrey Simmons (July 8, 1897 – November 30, 1979) was a Canadian politician, notary and magistrate.[2]

Born in Revelstoke, British Columbia, Simmons would go on to sit many times in the House of Commons of Canada representing the Yukon Territory.

A member of the Liberal Party, his first win came in 1949 when he represented the federal constituency of Yukon-Mackenzie River, an electoral district newly crafted out of the Yukon electoral district in 1947. Simmons easily won the election. His rival, Arthur Massey Berry, an Independent, lost by over 1,000 votes.

By 1953, at the next federal election, the riding of Yukon-Mackenzie River was abolished and transformed again into the Yukon electoral district. Running again for a seat in the House, Simmons won the 1953 election for the Yukon. In parliament, Simmons sponsored a bill for the creation of an Alaska-Yukon pipeline.[3]

He was re-elected in 1957 federal election, but his election was declared void and he lost the subsequent by-election. He tried in the 1958 federal election to regain his seat but was again defeated and he never again went for a seat in the House of Commons.

He died in 1979 following a stroke.[4] [5]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Public Archives of Canada . The Canadian Directory of Parliament, 1867-1967 . 1968 . Queen's Printer . 531 .
  2. News: Sharp Clashes With Lesage On Yukon Bill . The Canadian Press . Ottawa Citizen . May 26, 1955.
  3. News: Pipeline Bill Wins Approval . The Vancouver Sun . March 2, 1957 . Ottawa.
  4. Web site: Registration Of Death . royalbcmuseum.bc.ca. https://web.archive.org/web/20150610210443/http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/DisplayGenealogyImage?k=dea8726c-8a39-448a-a9b8-290f65094dd9. June 10, 2015.
  5. Web site: James Aubrey Simmons, M.P. . lop.parl.ca . Date of Death: 1979-11-30.