James Armstrong was a Canadian politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and farmer

Farmer

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

. He ran for election in 1875 and lost. He was elected in 1882 as a Member of the Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 representing the riding

Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

 of Middlesex South

Middlesex South

Middlesex South was a federal electoral district that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1883 to 1904. It was located in the province of Ontario...

. He was re-elected in 1887 and 1891. He ran in the federal election of 1875 in the riding of Middlesex East

Middlesex East

Middlesex East was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867, which divided the County of Middlesex into three ridings: Middlesex North, Middlesex West and...

 and lost. Armstrong died in office at the age of 62.

He was the son of Thomas Armstrong and Agnes Murray, both immigrants from Roxburghshire

Roxburghshire

Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and was educated in Middlesex County

Middlesex County, Ontario

Middlesex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario. Landlocked, the county is bordered by Huron and Perth counties on the north, Oxford County on the east, Elgin County on the south, and Chatham-Kent and Lambton County on the west.The seat is the city of London, although the city...

, Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

. Armstrong was married twice: to Jane Fraser in 1858 and to Annie McCall in 1873. He was president of the London Mutual Fire Insurance Company and a director of the Canadian Saving and Loan Company. Armstrong also served as superintendent of schools, township clerk, reeve for Westminster Township and warden for Middlesex County

Middlesex County, Ontario

Middlesex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario. Landlocked, the county is bordered by Huron and Perth counties on the north, Oxford County on the east, Elgin County on the south, and Chatham-Kent and Lambton County on the west.The seat is the city of London, although the city...

.