John Costigan

Who was John Costigan?

John Costigan was a Canadian judge and politician who served in the Canadian House of Commons and in the Cabinet of several Prime Ministers of Canada.

Costigan was born on February 1, 1835 in Saint-Nicolas, Lower Canada, the son of Irish immigrants John Costigan and Bridget Dunn. He was educated at Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière in Lower Canada from 1850 to 1852. In 1857, he became registrar of deeds and wills for Victoria County in New Brunswick and a judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas. He resigned from these posts in 1861 when he was elected to be a member of the 19th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of Victoria.

On September 20, 1867 he was elected to the 1st Canadian Parliament as a member of the Liberal-Conservative Party by the riding of Victoria in New Brunswick. He was re-elected nine times, and he became a member of the Liberal Party on February 6, 1906. During his time as a Member of Parliament, he was a Minister of Inland Revenue, a Secretary of State of Canada, a Minister of Marine and Fisheries, and an acting Minister of Trade and Commerce. He was Dean of the House from 1896 to 1907.