James Dew Chaplin

Who was James Dew Chaplin?

James Dew Chaplin, PC was a Canadian politician.

Born in Toronto, Canada West, the son of William Lamont Chaplin and Harriet Dew, Chaplin was educated at the Public Schools and St. Catharines Collegiate Institute. A manufacturer in St. Catharines, Ontario, he was president of the Chaplin Wheel Company, Canada Axe and Harvest Tool Company, and the Wallingford Manufacturing Company. Chaplin served four years as a member of St. Catharines city council.

He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons representing the riding of Lincoln in the 1917 federal election. A Conservative, he was re-elected in 1921, 1925, 1926, and 1930. In 1926, he was the Minister of Trade and Commerce in the short lived cabinet of Arthur Meighen.

In 1888, Chaplin married Edna Elizabeth Burgess. He died in St. Catharines at the age of 74.

His brother Alexander Dew, his son Gordon and his granddaughter Edna Anderson also served in the House of Commons.