John Arbuthnot (7 January 1861 – 18 September 1931)[1] was a Canadian businessman and politician who served as an alderman and the 19th Mayor of Winnipeg. He was born in Grantham township, Lincoln County, Ontario.
Arbuthnot worked as a clerk at Port Arthur, Ontario for John Ross, manager of construction 1882-85 for the Canadian Pacific Railway along the north shore of Lake Superior from Port Arthur to Missanabie.[2] After railway construction ended, he moved back to St Catharines, Ontario where he married Agnes Barbara Savage 17 February 1886, a niece of John Ross. The 1891 Canada census at St Catharines records John as a lumber salesman, living there with his wife, two children, Ross and William, and in-laws, William and Christina Ross Savage. About 1891-92 John then moved to Rat Portage, Ontario to work at the Western Lumber Company where his brother-in-law James Malcolm Savage was company secretary. He established his own lumber business after moving to Winnipeg.
He was elected a Winnipeg alderman for 1896 and 1897 before serving as City Parks Board chair the following two years. He was elected as Mayor to serve terms from 1901 to 1903.[1] In 1907 he left Winnipeg for British Columbia and remained in that province until his death in 1931. He initially worked in partnership with his brother-in-law James Malcolm Savage managing a coal mining company.[3]
The City of Winnipeg named Arbuthnot Street in his honour.[4]
