John George Bourinot (elder)

John Bourinot (March 15, 1814 – January 19, 1884) was a French-speaking Jersey-born Canadian merchant and politician, a member of the first Senate of Canada.

The Honourable John Bourinot
Bourinot photographed in 1874 by William James Topley
Canadian Senator for Nova Scotia
In office October 23, 1867 – January 19, 1884
Prime Minister	John A. Macdonald
Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
In office 1851–1867
Constituency	Cape Breton County
Personal details
Born	(1814-03-15)March 15, 1814 Grouville, Jersey
Died	January 19, 1884(1884-01-19) (aged 69) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Liberal-Conservative
Children	John George Bourinot
Occupation	Merchant
Military service
Rank	Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit	Cape Breton Reserve Militia

Born in Grouville, Jersey, in the Channel Islands, he was educated in Jersey and in Caen in Normandy in France and emigrated as a young man to Sydney, Nova Scotia, where he opened a business as a ship-chandler. In 1834, shortly after his arrival there, he was appointed French vice-consul and also worked as an agent for Lloyd's of London. In 1835, he married Margaret Ann Marshall, daughter of John George Marshall, from a politically influential local family. Together, they would have eleven children.

In the 1840s, Bourinot lobbied unsuccessfully for the independence of Cape Breton Island from Nova Scotia. In 1859, he was elected as the Conservative MLA of Cape Breton County in Halifax. Bourinot eventually sided with Charles Tupper, voting for the Confederation Resolution in 1866, and was appointed by John A. Macdonald as a Liberal-Conservative member of the first Senate of Canada.

His political career thereafter was unremarkable; Bourinot was mostly active in committee work. He died of a stroke in Ottawa, where he had wanted to attend the opening of parliament in 1884.