James Stuart Mackie

Who was James Stuart Mackie?

James Stuart Mackie was a Canadian businessman and politician. He was the 12th mayor of Calgary, Alberta.

Mackie was born in Westminster, England in 1860 to Scottish parents. Hearing of opportunities in Canada, he emigrated to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1882. In Winnipeg, he learnt to become a gunsmith with Hingston Smith Arms Company. In 1885, he went back to England to convince his parents to return with him to Canada. They instead decided to go to Syracuse, New York then later San Francisco, California. While on route back to Canada, Mackie met Grace MacMillan Forgan. Forgan was heading to Omaha, Nebraska to be with her parents. They continued to write each other, and in February, 1892 they were married.

Mackie headed to Calgary in 1886 to open a gun store. Mackie had short-lived business partnerships with Walter Mackay and Joseph Cockel that helped expand his business knowledge beyond gunsmithing. He ended up being involved with taxidermy, sports goods, fishing tackle, cutlery, fur, etc. In November 1899, he purchased the Thomson Bros. bookstore. In 1901, he bought the Thompson Stationary Company.