Harkin began his career as a journalist under the umbrella of the Ottawa Journal and Montreal Herald, two conservative newspapers at the time, but soon through his persistence and prowess gained entry into civil service during his mid-twenties.

Under the tutelage of some influential figures working for the Liberal Party of Canada, most notably Clifford Sifton and Frank Oliver, Harkin was able to acquire an appointment to be the first commissioner of the Dominion Parks Branch in 1911.

In successfully bringing these two principles together in a symbiotic way, Harkin was able to facilitate the incredible growth of Canadian tourism and, at the same time, justify his conservationist goals.

In particular, Harkin's lack of knowledge of his duties as commissioner, his alleged over-dependence on his staff, and his desire to employ men under the market minimum wage were quite controversial.

[citation needed] James Bernard Harkin, nicknamed "Bunny", was born January 30, 1875, in the town of Vankleek Hill in eastern Ontario.

Their father, Dr. William Harkin, was a devout Catholic who was born to Irish Protestant immigrants in 1831 in Vanleek Hill where he became a schoolteacher and soon after went to study medicine at McGill University.

After the death of his father, Harkin remained with his mother and sister until his high school years when he left to live with his brother who had become a doctor in Marquette, Michigan.

Despite the passing of his father, Harkin's upbringing influenced his ability to forge the beginning of his career as a cub reporter with the Montreal Herald at age seventeen.

[3] Harkin's route into a political career was generated mostly by his family, in which his father was a Conservative with a seat in the Legislative Assembly and his brother was a highly touted journalist for the Ottawa Journal.

It was through the mentorship of his brother, William Harkin, that he gained employment with the Montreal Herald, but shortly afterwards with the Ottawa Journal under the guidance of P.D Ross.

However, Harkin's philosophy of preserving Canada's landscape for the sake of patriotic pride and physical, moral, and mental well-being is also evident and well-documented in his writings and departmental reports.

In fact, some historians argue that it is in great part his ability to have both his commercial and preservationist goals merge and play off each other that determines his success as commissioner.

At the onset of his Parks Branch career, Harkin and his staff had sought to find out how much revenue was generated by tourism in both American states and European countries.

[8] His findings, which included tens of millions of dollars for just the American state of Maine, were astounding and he went on to publish a compiled report of tourist revenue figures for distribution to members of the House of Commons and Senate in 1913.

But, as his annual reports as commissioner show, he also felt there was a higher purpose to exposing more individuals to Canada's scenic beauty beyond mere aesthetics.

[10] This need not be physical recreational activity; however, breathing in fresh air and being within close proximity of nature is an important part of this rejuvenation process.

For many at the time, life consisted of long hours of laborious work in factories and living in big cities, which according to Harkin brought out the animal in man and deteriorated both the body and mind of the modern Canadian subject.

[12] But a feasible way to counteract these oppressive effects, Harkin wrote, was through the almost mystical rejuvenation that national park lands offered on a physical, mental, and even moral level.

Rather, it was his belief that national parks were a way for civilization and economic growth in Canada to continue "with the worker escaping periodically to nature to be recharged" but with every intention of returning as a productive member of society.

He led the Parks Branch into what some critics call the business of selling scenery, where foreign tourists were to be imported to enjoy Canada's natural resource.

[18] In the 1920s, Harkin appointed Mabel Williams to author guidebooks and literature that promoted parks as a Canadian birthright that made one physically stronger, psychologically renewed, and spiritually fulfilled.

With the Migratory Birds Convention Act, Harkin was able to achieve his goal of receiving complete authority for game protection in Canada.

The act led to boundary revisions of Rocky Mountain Park and the re-inclusion of the Kananaskis Valley, which Harkin believed was necessary to protect game.

In 1917, the American Permanent Wild Life Protection Fund recognized Canada as the first country to create a fenced preserve for antelope.

Many biographers have written about Harkin's work, but his life is based on a very thin collection of sources, leading to skepticism about his duty and achievements as commissioner.

[45] Harkin's personal archival papers say little about his involvement with the national parks; they focus almost entirely on his notes and correspondence on Vilhjalmur Stefansson’s expedition to the Arctic in 1921.

The disagreement proved to create tensions within the federal government and also started the theory that local indigenous peoples were to blame for the decrease in the population of buffalo.

[49] The tension between the Indian Affairs Department and wildlife conservationists was very evident at the National Conference on Conservation of Game, Fur-Bearing Animals, and other Wild Life held in February 1919.

[51] Indigenous groups that lived in the area protested the creation of the Wood Buffalo National Park up until its establishment and continued after in hopes of gaining back their sovereignty and their right to hunt on their traditional territories.

The situation escalated beyond Harkin's control and caused him to ask the Department of Defense to take over; the men responded by a failed attempt to dig their way out of the park and escape.