John Abbott

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{{Infobox PM

| name=The Honourable Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott
| image=Johnabbott.jpg
| country=Canada
| term=June 16, 1891 – November 24, 1892
| before=John A. Macdonald
| after=John Thompson
| date_birth=March 12, 1821
| place_birth=St-Andre-Est, Quebec
| date_death=October 30, 1893
| place_death=Montreal, Quebec
| party=Conservative

}}

For other uses, see John Abbott (disambiguation).

Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, PC , QC , KCMG , BCL , DCL (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was the third Prime Minister of Canada from June 16, 1891 to November 24, 1892. He is also the great-grandfather of Canadian actor Christopher Plummer.

Born in St. Andrews (now St-Andre-Est), Quebec, he was the first native-born prime minister. John Abbott married Mary Bethune (1823-1898) in 1849. The couple had four children.

He received a BCL from McGill University in 1854 and was a successful lawyer. A pillar of Montreal's English business community, he later became mayor of Montreal in 1887 to 1888.

After long service in the Canadian House of Commons, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1887 and joined Sir John A. Macdonald's cabinet that year as Minister without Portfolio. He also served as Leader of the Government in the Senate from May 12 1887 - October 30 1893 (including his term as Prime Minister). Valued for his legal and administrative skills, he soon became one of its leading members.

When Prime Minister Macdonald died in office, Senator Abbott reluctantly accepted the plea of the divided Conservative party that he should lead the government. In his eighteen months in office, Abbott worked on revitalizing the government and the party. Despite the scandals exposed during his term, he dealt with the backlog of government business awaiting him after Macdonald's death. Reform of the civil service, revisions of the criminal code, and a reciprocity treaty with the U.S were just a few of the issues initiated by Abbott. During his 17 month term, there were 52 by-elections, 42 of which were won by the Conservatives, increasing their majority by 13 seats, an indisputable acknowledgement of Abbott's popularity as prime minister. One year into his time as PM, Abbott attempted to turn the prime ministership over to John Thompson, but this was politically unfeasible due to anti-Catholic sentiment in the Tory caucus. Suffering from the early stages of cancer of the brain, Abbott's health failed in 1892 and he retired to private life, whereupon Thompson finally became Prime Minister. Abbott died less than a year later.

Sir John Abbott is buried in the Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, Quebec.

John Abbott College in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec is named after him.

His most famous political comment is "I hate politics".

See also

• List of Montreal mayors

References

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• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Political Biography from the Library of Parliament

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Prime Ministers of Canada		Image:Flag of Canada.svg
Macdonald | Mackenzie | Abbott | Thompson | Bowell | Tupper | Laurier | Borden | Meighen | King | Bennett | St. Laurent | Diefenbaker | Pearson | Trudeau | Clark | Turner | Mulroney | Campbell | Chrétien | Martin | Harper

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Template:Conservative Leaders {{Persondata |NAME=Abbott, John Joseph Caldwell |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION=3rd Prime Minister of Canada (1891-1892) |DATE OF BIRTH=March 12, 1821 |PLACE OF BIRTH=St. Andrews |DATE OF DEATH=October 30, 1893 |PLACE OF DEATH= }}

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