1908 Toronto municipal election explained

Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1908. Mayor Emerson Coatsworth did not run for a third term.

Joseph Oliver was elected to his first term as Mayor of Toronto. Oliver, who was considered a Liberal, defeated Alderman George Reginald Geary and Dr. Beattie Nesbitt who were both Conservative supporters as well as James Simpson, running as a socialist. Geary would go on to serve as mayor from 1910 to 1912 as well as sit as a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1925 to 1935. Simpson would later serve on the Toronto Board of Control in 1914 and again in the 1930s and would be elected mayor in 1935. A plebiscite was also held which approved the creation of the publicly owned Toronto Hydro-Electric System and public ownership of the Toronto Suburban Railway and Toronto Eastern Railway, which were both interurban electric streetcar systems.

Toronto mayor

Results

Joseph Oliver - 14,022

Alderman George Reginald Geary - 7,124

Dr Beattie Nesbitt - 6,504

James Simpson - 3,701

Miles Vokes - 964

Source: "OLIVER IS TORONTO'S MAYOR; NESBITT OVERWHELMED', The Globe, page 1, January 2, 1908 - accessed via ProQuest.

Plebiscite

A plebiscite was held on "the power by-law" in municipalities across the province to create publicly owned municipal hydro-electric utilities in order to access hydro-electric power from Niagara Falls. TheToronto Hydro-Electric System (nowToronto Hydro) was created as a result. The plebiscite also authorized the city to take into public ownership the Toronto Suburban Railway and Toronto Eastern Railway, to create a public interurban electrical transit system referred to as a "hydro-radial" system.^[1] ^[2]

The by-law was approved in Toronto by a vote of 14,078 to 4,483.^[3]

Board of Control

Three incumbent members of the Toronto Board of Control were re-elected, Controller William Peyton Hubbard was displaced by Frank Spence.

Horatio Clarence Hocken (incumbent) - 16,844

Frank S. Spence - 11,542

William Spence Harrison (incumbent) - 10,310

J.J. Ward (incumbent) - 10,075

William Peyton Hubbard (incumbent) - 9,203

John Shaw - 6,385

Robert Fleming - 5,648

Oliver B. Sheppard - 5,099

John Dunn - 4,435

John Enoch Thompson - 1,294

James Lindala - 1,220

Hugh MacMath - 1,013

Robert Buist Noble - 745

James O'Hara - 307

Joel Marvin Briggs - 232

Source: The Globe, page 3, January 2, 1908, and "MANY IN FIGHT FOR MAYORALTY: Seven Candidates Nominated at the City Hall WOULD-BE CONTROLLERS Large Crop of Nominees, Including Present Board Fifteen Men and One Woman in the List for Places on the Board of education-- The Socialists Have a Ticket-- Speeches of the Various Candidates FOR MAYOR", The Globe, 24 Dec 1907: 11.

City council

Three aldermen were elected to Toronto City Council per ward. There were only two changes from the previous council, Alderman Hales was defeated in Ward 1 by William Temple Stewart and in Ward 3, Mark Bredin filled the seat vacated by Alderman Geary, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor.

Ward 1 (Riverdale)

Daniel Chisholm (incumbent) - 2,079

William Temple Stewart - 1,439

William J. Saunderson (incumbent) - 1,356

Edward Hales (incumbent) - 1,292

Zephaniah Hilton - 995

William Worrell - 991

John Coatsworth Graham - 481

Charles Fletcher Leidy - 360

Elgin Schoff - 138

Ward 2 (Cabbagetown and Rosedale)

Tommy Church (incumbent) - 2,656

James Hales (incumbent) - 2,238

Thomas Foster (incumbent)- 1,921

William Norton Eastwood - 1,291

Ewart Farquahar - 864

William Alexander Douglass - 721

John Clark - 445

Josiah Rogers - 199

Ward 3 (Central Business District and The Ward)

Sam McBride (incumbent)- 2,885

John Wilson Bengough (incumbent) - 2,382

Mark Bredin - 2,148

Wesley Sandfield Johnston - 998

Frank W. Johnston - 960

John Kirk - 771

William Earngey - 767

Julius H. Humphrey - 759

Frederick Hogg - 716

David Lorsch - 663

James Phinnemore - 239

Ward 4 (Area between Bathurst Street and University Avenue including Spadina)

R.C. Vaughan (incumbent) - 3,492

George McMurrich (incumbent) - 3,409

Thomas Alexander Lytle (incumbent) - 3,240

George Eakins Gibbard - 2,299

Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods)

Robert Henry Graham (incumbent) - 2,338

Peter Whytock (incumbent) - 2,152

Albert James Keeler (incumbent) - 1,375

James Cooper Claxton - 1,216

Joseph May - 1,029

John Aldridge - 1,008

William Carlyle - 886

Alexander Stewart - 873

Thomas Gillies - 699

Frederick W. Jenkins - 552

William James King - 355

Ward 6 (Brockton and Parkdale)

James Henry McGhie - 2,498

John James Graham - 2,164

J.H. Adams - 1,347

James Arthur McCausland - 1,332

Fred McBrien - 1,017

Walter Mann - 824

Thomas Hurst - 774

John Edward Jarrott - 665

David Ruddick Bell - 594

Thomas Yates Egan - 546

George Fairles - 431

Walter Warrington - 276

Phillips Thompson - 265

Source: ^[4] and ^[3]

References

Results taken from the January 2, 1908 Toronto Globe and might not exactly match final tallies.

Notes and References

"HYDRO-RADIAL PURCHASE SCHEME CARRIES AT POLLS: BOTH CITY AND COUNTRY FAVOR SUBURBAN AND EASTERN DEALS; NIAGARA WANTS N., S. & T. RADIAL Public Ownership Gains Another Great Triumph at the Municipal Elections--A Tribute to the Leadership of Sir Adam Beck DRURY STANDS PAT ON PRESENT POLICY Majority of . .. For Toronto Suburban Purchase and 1,792 for the Toronto Eastern--One Municipality Only Gives Adverse Vote in Niagara Peninsula, The Globe (1844-1936); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]03 Jan 1922: 1
SUPPORT THE POWER BY-LAWThe Globe (1844-1936); Dec 31, 1907; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mailpg. 4
"OLIVER IS TORONTO'S MAYOR; NESBITT OVERWHELMED', The Globe, pages 1 & 3, January 2, 1908
"MANY IN FIELD FOR ALDERMEN: Seventeen Candidates Running in Sixth Ward OLD MEMBERS LINED UP Aldermanic Candidates Favor Power By-law A Number off Them Advocate Purchase of Toronto Electric Ught Company's Plant-- Filtration of Water Favored by Many of Those Seeking Office", The Globe, 4 Dec 1907: 9