James H. Howden

Who was James H. Howden?

James Henry Howden was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a member of the Conservative Party from 1903 to 1915, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Rodmond P. Roblin.

Howden was born in Milton, Canada West, the son of Robert Howden, and was educated at St. Catharines. In 1882, Howden came to Winnipeg where he trained as a lawyer and was called to the Manitoba bar in 1887. He practised as a barrister. In 1891, Howden moved to Neepawa. He married Barbara McIntosh in 1894. Howden served as mayor of Neepawa from 1900 to 1904. He also owned farms in the province and was president of the King Edward Hotel Company. In religion, Howden was a Methodist.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a by-election held on December 2, 1903, in the constituency of Beautiful Plains. Howden ran to replace the late Conservative cabinet minister John Andrew Davidson and was elected without opposition. He initially served as a backbench supporter of Roblin's ministry.

He was re-elected over Liberal Alexander Dunlop by 112 votes in the 1907 election, and was named to cabinet on March 16, 1907 as Railway Commissioner.