Editing John Abbott (section)

===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.