James Gibb Ross

Who was James Gibb Ross?

James Gibb Ross was a Canadian merchant and politician from the province of Quebec.

Born in Carluke, a village of South Lanarkshire, Scotland, Ross emigrated to Canada in 1832 with his brother, John Ross, settling in Quebec City. After briefly attending a private school, he started working within his uncle's, James and Thomas Gibb, wholesale grocery business, James Gibb & Company. He eventually started his own business with his brother as a grocery importer and trading in lumber.

He twice ran unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate for the Canadian House of Commons for the electoral district of Quebec-Centre in the 1872 election and the 1878 election. In 1884, he was summoned to the Senate of Canada for the senatorial division of The Laurentides, Quebec on the advice of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald. He served until his death in 1888.