Volume III - ElectricCanadian.com

OKJAMESCONMEE,M. P. P., RailwayContractor, Port Arthur,Ont., was born in GreyCounty, Ont., October i3th,1848. He is a son of Mathewand Rosana (Shaughnessy)Conmee. Whenabout fifteen years of age,he left school, and began totake hold of the practicalaffairs of life. In 1864, heenlisted in the 8th NewYork Cavalry, and was inactive service under the lateGeneral Custer, at the closeof the American war. Afterthe war, he returned toCanada, and engaged inrailway construction. Section"A" of the C. P. R.was let bythe Governmenton his tender, he completing.a section of the work. In1882, he became activelyengaged in several contractson the Lake Superior sectionof that railway, underthe North American ContractingCompany, (i. e. theC. P. R. Co.), and it was inconnection with one of thesecontracts that the now famous case ofConmee vs. the C. P. R. arose. Mr.Conmee was for several years a councillorof Port Arthur, and was electedmayor in 1885; during that year alsohe was elected the first member forWest Algoma for the Ontario Legislature,an office which he has since held.In 1889, he became engaged in thebuilding of the Port Arthur, Duluth andWestern Railway, which was completedin 1892. Mr. Conmee has beenthe means of placing some useful legislationon the Statute Books of the Province,among which may be mentionedthe provisions of the Municipal WaterWorks Act, which gives the ratepayersthe right to petition their council, alsothe Mining Schools Act, a much neededmeasure, by which the youth of Ontariomay acquire scientific instruction inmetallurgy and a practical knowledgeof minerals, etc.Although a Liberal,he opposed the imposition of royaltieson minerals, as enacted by the MowatAdministration in 1891, and it wasowing to his efforts that the law wasmodified in 1892. In religion, he is aRoman Catholic. In 1874, he wasmarried to Emily Florence, daughterof Joseph Cox, of St. Vincent, Ont., bywhom he has five children.