Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haife shi a Red River Settlement, ɗan John Palmer Bourke, ɗan asalin Ireland, da Nancy Campbell. Bourke ya girma a Hay Field Farm a St. James, wanda mahaifinsa ya saya daga Kamfanin Hudson's Bay; daga baya ya gaji gonar. Ya auri Isabella Hallett a shekara ta 1863. Bourke ya yi aiki a matsayin kyaftin din da ke jagorantar ƙungiyar masu sa kai a lokacin
'Yan Fenian sun kai hari. Daga baya ya yi aiki a majalisar don St. James kuma a matsayin memba na hukumar makarantar gida. Bourke ya mutu a Ocean Park, California kuma an binne shi a Winnipeg.