James Weir (August 5, 1863 – April 8, 1949) was a provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He was one of the first elected in Alberta of the new wave of politicians, standing up for farmers and workers as a third-party representative, neither Liberal nor Conservative.
Early life He was born in Elginfield, Canada West.
A journalist by trade, he edited newspapers in Hamilton, Windsor, Saskatoon and Strathcona (now part of Edmonton).Gloria M. Strathearn, Alberta Newspapers, 1880-1982, p. 450
Becoming a farmer in the Nanton area, he was active in the United Farmers of Alberta.Gloria M. Strathearn, Alberta Newspapers, 1880-1982, p. 450
Political history Weir was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1917 Alberta general election. In the district of Nanton, he defeated incumbent MLA John Glendenning in a hotly contested three-way race that separated first from third place by 31 votes. Weir was elected as an Independent and affiliated with the leftist Non-Partisan League.
Weir only served a single term in the assembly. He did not run for re-election after dissolution of the Legislature in 1921.
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