Background
He was born in Walkerton, Ontario and became a barrister and judge.
He was born in Walkerton, Ontario and became a barrister and judge.
McNiven attended public and secondary schools at Virden, Manitoba. He graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1909 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
He was elected as a provincial Liberal member to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan at the Regina City riding in a by-election on 19 September 1922. McNiven was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the Liberal party at the Regina City riding in the 1935 general election and re-elected there in 1940. McNiven resigned from the House of Commons on 19 October 1944 before the end of the 19th Canadian Parliament to become a judge on the Saskatchewan Court of King"s Bench.
In that same year, he also began to serve on various wartime-related boards.
In 1949, he was made a judge of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan where he presided until shortly before his death in July 1961.
He was a member of that legislature until his defeat in the 1929 provincial election.