In 1826, at the age of 16, due to the economic conditions of Scotland at the time, James was sent to Canada by his father John.
He and his brother John Dougall began by the selling of dry goods, first in Quebec, and later moving the business to Montreal and York, now known as Toronto.
[1] The marriage to Suzanne gave him a quite a strong connection to the local area, and it aided him to successfully open his first general store, "Dougall’s Emporium",[3] in Windsor, near the ferry dock.
Dougall helped in subsidizing the land of his father-in-law, and opened his store near the ferry dock.
Windsor attained Village status in 1854, and through this occurrence, Dougall became a member of the first council established in 1858.
The same year, Dougall was elected as the head of the school board, and held that position for the rest of his days.