John Prince (politician)

John Prince, QC (March 12, 1796 – November 30, 1870) was a lawyer, gentleman farmer and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West.

He was born in England in 1796 and studied in Hereford. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1821. He entered practice in Westerham, Kent and then Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

In 1833, he moved with his family to Sandwich (now Windsor) in Upper Canada. In 1835, he was named justice of the peace in the Western District. In the following year, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for Essex. He served with the local militia during the Battle of Windsor in the Upper Canada Rebellion. He was called to the bar of Upper Canada in 1838. In December 1838, Prince was in charge of the militia at Sandwich. When forces of the Hunter Patriots invaded the town, he ordered 4 prisoners immediately shot without trial. Despite facing a public dissent, a duel, a court martial and a debate in Parliament over his actions, he was reelected in Essex in 1841, 1844, 1847 and 1851. In 1844, he was appointed Queen's Counsel. He was involved in the development of railways and mines in the southwest part of the province, being president or major stockholder in several companies.

Renowned Canadian historian Fred Landon refers to Prince in the 1850s as being a duplicitous politician.

In the 1850s...there was more prejudice [against the African Diaspora] in Chatham, due in part to the attitude of a member for parliament for Essex County, who did not hesitate to declare himself the refugees' friend when an election impended, but blackguarded (disparaged) the race at other times, even on the floor of the Canadian Parliament.[1]

In 1857, he was elected to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada in the Western division. In 1860, he resigned to accept an appointment as the first judge in the Algoma District and moved to Sault Ste. Marie. He died there in 1870.

Prince Township on Lake Superior near Sault Ste. Marie was named after John Prince.

One of Prince's sons, William Stratton Prince, became Chief Constable of the Toronto Police Department and the first warden of Toronto Central Prison.

Further reading

References
  1. Landon, Fred, 1880-1969. (2009). Ontario's African-Canadian heritage : collected writings by Fred Landon, 1918-1967. Smardz Frost, Karolyn., Ontario Historical Society. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 9781550028140. OCLC 191759723.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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