| <tab>McArthur was one of the leading Canadian railway contractors of his time, and a major figure in western Canada, where he made his career. His work in railway building seems to have been confined wholly to Western Canada and Northern Ontario. In those regions he built, among much else, the Grand Trunk Pacific line connecting Winnipeg and Superior Junction in Northern Ontario, and part of the original Hudson Bay Railway. In his obituaries, he was described as “western Canada’s greatest railway-builder,” and it was said that he was “generally believed to have built more miles of railroad than any other man in the history of Canada,” and that his employees at times had numbered more than “the standing army of a small European kingdom.” Nevertheless, as his life in the //Dictionary of Canadian Biography// shows, he was also at times the subject of public criticism for his methods and quality of work. He was head of the contracting firm, J. D. McArthur Co. Ltd. Along with his involvement with railways, he also had extensive business interests in lumbering and in pulp and paper, and limited involvement also in mining, and he had large real estate interests in the Winnipeg area. Towards the end of his life, he was active in organizing the Manitoba Pulp and Paper Co. (of which he became vice-president), and at the time of his death was establishing its mills at Pine Falls, Manitoba; and one of his very last business activities was the attempt to found a pulp and paper mill at Prince George, B. C. He constructed various buildings, including the Glengarry Block in Winnipeg. | <tab>McArthur was one of the leading Canadian railway contractors of his time, and a major figure in western Canada, where he made his career. His work in railway building seems to have been confined wholly to Western Canada and Northern Ontario. In those regions he built, among much else, the Grand Trunk Pacific line connecting Winnipeg and Superior Junction in Northern Ontario, and part of the original Hudson Bay Railway. In his obituaries, he was described as “western Canada’s greatest railway-builder,” and it was said that he was “generally believed to have built more miles of railroad than any other man in the history of Canada,” and that his employees at times had numbered more than “the standing army of a small European kingdom.” Nevertheless, as his life in the //Dictionary of Canadian Biography// shows, he was also at times the subject of public criticism for his methods and quality of work. He was head of the contracting firm, J. D. McArthur Co. Ltd. Along with his involvement with railways, he also had extensive business interests in lumbering and in pulp and paper, and limited involvement also in mining, and he had large real estate interests in the Winnipeg area. Towards the end of his life, he was active in organizing the Manitoba Pulp and Paper Co. (of which he became vice-president), and at the time of his death was establishing its mills at Pine Falls, Manitoba; and one of his very last business activities was the attempt to found a pulp and paper mill at Prince George, B. C. He constructed various buildings, including the Glengarry Block in Winnipeg. |
| <tab>A very wealthy man, notwithstanding a number of sharp business reverses in his career, he lived well, with his own railway carriage, called the “Alberta,” which he bought at the Chicago World’s Fair, where it had won first prize. Having fallen ill with pernicious anemia, he sought treatment in a clinic at Battle Creek, Michigan, then, accepting that his condition was incurable, he decided to return to his home in Winnipeg, and died just after the private railway car (not his own this time, but a borrowed one) in which he was travelling had reached Winnipeg. His death received widespread press attention. He was a Presbyterian. At his funeral, it was remembered that he had contributed $4000 a year to home missions. He was buried in Winnipeg. See also Dr H. H. Christie and S. H. McCuaig. He was a first cousin of D. D. McCuaig. It is said that at the time of his death McArthur was about to be appointed lieutenant-governor of Manitoba. | <tab>A very wealthy man, notwithstanding a number of sharp business reverses in his career, he lived well, with his own railway carriage, called the “Alberta,” which he bought at the Chicago World’s Fair, where it had won first prize. Having fallen ill with pernicious anemia, he sought treatment in a clinic at Battle Creek, Michigan, then, accepting that his condition was incurable, he decided to return to his home in Winnipeg, and died just after the private railway car (not his own this time, but a borrowed one) in which he was travelling had reached Winnipeg. His death received widespread press attention. He was a Presbyterian. At his funeral, it was remembered that he had contributed $4000 a year to home missions. He was buried in Winnipeg. See also [[christie_hugh_herbert|Dr H. H. Christie]] and [[mccuaig_stanley_harwood|S. H. McCuaig]]. He was a first cousin of [[mccuaig_duncan_d|D. D. McCuaig]]. It is said that at the time of his death McArthur was about to be appointed lieutenant-governor of Manitoba. |
