James Dunsmuir

Who was James Dunsmuir?

James Dunsmuir was a British Columbian industrialist and politician. Son of Robert Dunsmuir, he was heir to his family's coal fortune. The Dunsmuir family dominated the province's economy in the late nineteenth century and were a leading force in opposing organized labour. Dunsmuir managed his family's coal business from 1876 until 1910 increasing profits and resisting efforts to unionize. In 1905 he sold his Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway to the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1910 he sold his coal mining company, Union Colliery of British Columbia and R. Dunsmuir and Sons to Canadian Collieries Ltd.

Dunsmuir entered provincial politics in 1898 winning a seat in the provincial legislature and became the 14th Premier in 1900. His government attempted to resist popular pressure to curtail Asian labour and immigration 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 disliked politics and resigned as Premier in 1902.