John Queen (1882-1946)

MLA (1921-1922), MLA (1923-1927), MLA (1927-1932), MLA (1933-1936), Mayor of Winnipeg (1935-36, 1938-42).

Born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, in a family of Plymouth Brethren, he was educated in Dunfermline. He came to Winnipeg in 1906 and, although a cooper by trade, was employed by North-West Laundry as a driver of a horse-drawn delivery wagon. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party, co-founder of the Winnipeg Socialist Sunday School, as well as business agent and advertising manager for the Western Labor News. He was employed for a time as an automobile salesman. He was married to Katherine Ross.

He was Winnipeg alderman for Ward Five from 1916 to 1919. Queen was active in opposing the Lord’s Day Act in Winnipeg. He served as chairman of a meeting at the Walker Theatre of 22 December 1918 which passed several radical resolutions. He was arrested on 17 June 1919 by the Mounties on charges of sedition connected with the Winnipeg General Strike, defended himself, and was sentenced in 1920 to one year in prison. He was a MLA from 1920 to 1941 and servedas leader of the Independent Labour Party from 1930 to 1935. He served as mayor of Winnipeg seven times (1935, 1936; and from 1938 to 1942) , and was elected in part as a moderate alternative to Communist Party candidates.

He is commemorated by Queen Street in Winnipeg.

More information:

Profiles in Dissent: The Shaping of Radical Thought in the Canadian West by Harry and Mildred Gutkin (1997), pages 343-381.

Sources:

We thank Stefan Epp for providing information used in thisprofile.

Profile revised: 26 September 2009

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