1910 Toronto municipal election

Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 1 January 1910. George Reginald Geary was elected to his first term as mayor.[1] Two proposals were also approved by the voters:

  1. To build a subway system
  2. To elect school trustees according to wards (districts).[1]
Toronto's The Globe from 3 January 1910 showing the results of the 1910 municipal election.

Three by-laws were also voted on, two passed. The approved by-laws were:

  1. Building new buildings on the land of the Canadian National Exhibition;
  2. Building more fire and police stations.[1]

The by-law that failed to win approval was the one calling for the extension of Bloor Street by means of a viaduct.[1]

Voting eligibility change

Unlike today, many people were not allowed to vote. Women could only vote if they owned land and were either not married or widowed. [2] There were also limits on which men could vote and people who didn't own land weren't allowed to vote on certain questions.

Toronto mayor change

Mayor Joseph Oliver did not run for re-election. George Reginald Geary had run for the mayor's office in 1908 but lost to Oliver before winning a seat on the Board of Control (the city council's executive) the next year. In an open race in 1910, Geary's main opponent was fellow Controller Horatio Clarence Hocken, founder of the Toronto Star and social reformer whom he defeated by 4,000 votes.

Results[1]
George Reginald Geary - 18,996
Horatio Clarence Hocken - 14,999
Thomas Davies - 644
Robert Buist Noble - 192
Joel Marvin Briggs - 93

Board of Control change

All results are sourced from the 3 January 1910 The Globe, page one.

Frank S. Spence - 13,879
J.J. Ward (incumbent) - 13,401
Tommy Church - 12,657
Thomas Foster - 10,841
William Spence Harrison (incumbent) - 9,946
William Peyton Hubbard - 9,498
Mark Bredin - 8,708
James Henry McGhie - 7,511
James Hales - 5,852
Albert Chamberlain - 2,730

City council change

 
A map of Toronto's seven municipal wards as they appeared for the 1 January 1910 election. (Source: Toronto Daily Star)
Ward 1
Thomas N. Phelan - 3,194
Daniel Chisholm (incumbent) - 2,887
Zephaniah Hilton (incumbent) - 2,402
William J. Saunderson - 1,957
Andrew McMillan (incumbent) - 1,550
James William Jackson - 1,449
Ward 2
John O'Neill (incumbent) - 2,544
Henry Adams Rowland - 1,877
William J. Hambly - 1,647
Robert Yeomans - 1,234
Donald Urquhart - 900
James Edward Forfar - 573
Frederick Hogg - 460
James O'Hara - 269
Frederick Burrows - 186
Ward 3
Charles A. Maguire (incumbent) - 3,623
Sam McBride - 2,759
Norman Heyd - 2,619
Stewart Nassau Hughes - 1658
John Kirk - 1,291
Ward 4
George Weston - 2,895
Albert Welch (incumbent) - 2,226
George McMurrich (incumbent) - 2,228
James Commeford - 1,776
A.E. Hacker - 1,602
A.R. Williamson - 1,462
J.N Sloan - 483
Ward 5[3]
John Dunn (incumbent) - 2,605
Joseph May - 2,508
Robert Henry Graham (incumbent) - 2,023
Robert William Dockeray - 1,792
Albert James Keeler (incumbent) - 1,764
Peter Whytock - 1,698
John L. Richardson - 1,414
Richard Pugh Powell - 730
Ward 6[1]
Jesse O. McCarthy - 3,276
James Arthur McCausland - 2,992
David Spence - 2,571
Fred McBrien - 2,562
John James Graham (incumbent) - 1,830
Thomas Edward Earls - 235
Ward 7[4]
A.J. Anderson (incumbent) - acclaimed
William Alexander Baird (incumbent) - acclaimed

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Controller Geary elected mayor". The Globe. Toronto. 1910-01-03. p. 1.
  2. "William Holmes Howland (b. 1844-d.1893) Mayor of Toronto - 1886-1887". Toronto History: Mayors and Reeves. Toronto: City of Toronto. 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
  3. "Official Figures of the Election". Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1910-01-03. p. 1.
  4. "Controller Geary elected mayor". The Globe. Toronto. 1910-01-03. p. 2.