Editing John Abbott (section)

==Politics==
{{See also|Electoral history of John Abbott}}

===Early involvement===
In 1849, he signed the [[Montreal Annexation Manifesto]] calling for [[Canada]] to join the [[United States]], an action which he regretted later as a youthful error. He eventually joined the [[Loyal Orange Lodge]] of [[British North America]], well known as a pro-British organization. Abbott first ran for [[Parliament of Canada|Canada's Legislative Assembly]] in 1857 in the [[Argenteuil (electoral district)|Argenteuil]] district, northwest of [[Montreal]].<ref name="EB"/> Defeated, he challenged the election results on the grounds of voting list irregularities and was eventually awarded the seat in 1860. He served as solicitor general for [[Lower Canada]] (Quebec) representing the liberal administration of [[John Sandfield Macdonald]] and [[Louis-Victor Sicotte|Louis Sicotte]], from 1862 until 1863.<ref name="EB"/> He reluctantly supported Canada's confederation, fearing the reduction of the political power of [[Lower Canada]]'s English-speaking minority. In 1865, he converted to a conservative.<ref name="EB"/> His proposal to protect the electoral borders of 12 English Quebec constituencies was eventually incorporated into the [[Constitution Act, 1867|''British North America Act, 1867'']].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

===National politics===
Abbott was elected to the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] in 1867 as member for Argenteuil. He was removed from his seat by petition in 1874 following his involvement in the [[Pacific Scandal]]. He narrowly lost the [[1878 Canadian federal election|1878 election]], then won in February 1880, only to have his victory declared void because of bribery allegations. He was, however, subsequently elected in a by-election in August 1881. In 1887, [[John A. Macdonald|Macdonald]] appointed him to the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]].<ref name="EB"/> He served as [[Leader of the Government in the Senate (Canada)|Leader of the Government in the Senate]] from May 12, 1887, to October 30, 1893 (including his term as prime minister) and as [[Minister without Portfolio]] in [[John A. Macdonald|Macdonald's]] cabinet. He also served two one-year terms as [[mayor of Montreal]] from 1887 to 1889.
[[File:SirJohnAbbott2.jpg|thumb|right|Abbott as Mayor of Montreal.]]

Abbott was involved in the promotion of several railway projects, including the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]]  (CPR) (of which he served as president). He worked to incorporate and arrange financing for the first CPR syndicate. As legal advisor to its main financier, Sir [[Hugh Allan]], Abbott was the recipient of the infamous telegram from Prime Minister Macdonald during the [[1872 Canadian federal election]] campaign which read "I must have another ten thousand; will be the last time of calling; do not fail me; answer today." This telegram was stolen from Abbott's office and published, breaking the 1873 [[Pacific Scandal]] which brought down Macdonald's government. Abbott was subsequently a key organizer of a second syndicate which eventually completed the construction of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885, serving as its solicitor from 1880 to 1887 and as a director from 1885 to 1891.

===Prime minister===
{{more citations needed|section|date=June 2017}}
When Prime Minister Macdonald died in office, Abbott supported [[John Sparrow David Thompson|John Thompson]] to succeed him, but reluctantly accepted the plea of the divided [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative party]] that he should lead the government, though he considered himself a [[caretaker government|caretaker]] prime minister for his seventeen months in office. He was one of just two Canadian Prime Ministers, the other being [[Mackenzie Bowell]], to have held the office while serving in the Senate rather than the House of Commons.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biography – THOMPSON, Sir JOHN SPARROW DAVID – Volume XII (1891-1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/thompson_john_sparrow_david_12E.html|access-date=2021-07-11|website=www.biographi.ca}}</ref>

Soon after Abbott assumed office in 1891, Canada was plunged into an economic recession; later that same year he faced another challenge as the McGreevy-Langevin scandal came to light, revealing that [[Hector-Louis Langevin]], former Minister of Public Works in the Conservative government, had conspired with contractor [[Thomas McGreevy]] to defraud the government.

Despite the political toll on his party, Abbott dealt with the backlog of government business awaiting him after Macdonald's death, including reform of the civil service and revisions of the criminal code. He attempted in 1892 to negotiate a new treaty of reciprocity with the United States, but failed to reach an agreement.

During his term, there were 52 by-elections, 42 of which were won by the Conservatives, increasing their majority by 13 seats—evidence of Abbott's effectiveness as prime minister. One year into his time as prime minister, Abbott attempted to turn the office over to Thompson, but this was rejected due to anti-[[Roman Catholicism|Catholic]] sentiment in the Tory caucus.<ref name="EB"/>