James Ramsay was a Scottish

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...

-born merchant and political figure in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. He represented Vancouver City

Vancouver City (electoral district)

Vancouver City was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was a multiple member riding based in the newly-created city of Vancouver....

 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

 from 1920 to 1924 as a Liberal

British Columbia Liberal Party

The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...

.

He was born in Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

 and later operated a stationery store in Scotland. In 1891, he opened a factory in Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

. Ramsay moved to Victoria six months later, establishing a company that manufactured biscuits, candies and syrup. Ramsay was a Vancouver alderman for 7 years and chair of the Vancouver School Board for 10 years. He was also president of the local YMCA

YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

, president of the Canadian and British Columbia Manufacturer's Association and served on the board for the Vancouver General Hospital

Vancouver General Hospital

Vancouver General Hospital is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre group of medical facilities...

 and on the Vancouver Board of Trade

Vancouver Board of Trade

The Vancouver Board of Trade is a non-profit organization which seeks to "promote, enhance and facilitate the development of the region as a Pacific centre for trade, commerce and travel." It serves Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in a fashion similar to the Board of Trade or Chamber of...

. Ramsay died in Vancouver at the age of 68.

His company's warehouse in Vancouver has been designed as a heritage building by the city of Vancouver.