City of Toronto 1855 Municipal Election
January 1, 1855 (1855-01-01)
All 28 members of Toronto City Council
Mayor appointed by majority of City Council

Nominees for Mayor
Candidate George William Allan (acclaimed)

The 1855 City of Toronto Municipal Election was the City's 21st municipal election. Polling occurred on the first Monday and Tuesday of the year, January 1st and 2nd. Elections for Aldermen and Councilmen were held in seven wards and for the Municipal License Inspector. Violence and intimidation over political control of St. John's Ward by candidates who represented the Orange Order marred the election.

Samuel Reid, the nephew of James Spence, a candidate for licence inspector, was fatally wounded on the second day of the election. Joseph Sheard, a reformist candidate for Alderman and Joseph Rowell, a councilman candidate, were also injured in attacks attributed to their opponent's supporters. Sheard and Rowell initially lost the election, but because of the violence, they disputed the results. Following a judicial review, the court found that Sheard won by four votes and forced a by-election for Councilmen, which Rowell won in March 1855.

After the election, George William Allan, the heir of one of Toronto's wealthiest men, banker William Allan, was appointed mayor by City Council.

Background

The map shows Toronto as it was in 1857 along with seven wards. St. Patrick's Ward in yellow. It's boundaries are Dufferin Street to the west, Bloor Street West to the north, University Avenue to the east and Queen Street to the South. St. Andrews Ward in red is located between Dufferin Street and Yonge Street, and Queen Street and King Street. St. George's Ward is located south of King Street to the Lakeshore and between Dufferin and Yonge Street.
Plan of the City of Toronto Canada West 1857. // Published by Fleming Ridout & Schreiber. The City's seven wards are shown. St. John's Ward is in the centre in blue

By the 1850s, the Orange Order was a powerful force in Toronto's municipal politics. The Order negotiated a middle ground between the traditional power blocks in local government, the Family Compact and Reform movement. The Orange Order aimed to ensure that its members benefited from patronage appointments.[1]

St. John's Ward, Toronto's newest ward, was created in 1853 by the division of St. Patrick's Ward. The new ward was the poorest of the City's seven wards and a predominantly Irish protestant working-class neighbourhood and home to much of Toronto's small Black community. During the 1855 election, it was the site of a clash between incumbent reformers and ambitious Orangemen. The incumbents were Alderman Joseph Sheard, Councilmen Joseph Rowell and John Bugg, and Orangeman John Hillyard Cameron. The Orangemen Richard Dempsey and Robert (Bob) Moodie ran to oppose Sheard and Rowell.[2]

Outside St. John's Ward race was centred on tax rates and city expenditures. The City was embarking on large infrastructure projects to support the railways.[3] In 1854, City Council awarded £150,000 to Gzowksi and Company to build the Esplanade, so that railways could enter and cross the City along the waterfront. The 1855 Council would revisit and rescind the contract.[4]

The St. John's Ward Election and By-election

On January 2, 1855, a crowd gathered around the polling place in St. John's Ward on the second voting day. They occupied the street, guarded the door, and only allowed voters to enter if they promised to vote for Dempsey and Moodie. In the afternoon, the crowd attacked Sheard and Rowell. In the attack, Sheard was thrown onto a pile of lumber and cut on the wrist by a knife. Rowell was injured when to trying to assist Sheard. When the dust settled, Dempsey won by four votes and Moodie by 42 votes.[5]

That same evening after the polls had closed, Samuel Reid was fatally stabbed. The fallout from the murder shook the ward. The police arrested eight people before the individual responsible was arrested after his name was discovered etched on the murder weapon. Reid could not vote but was active in the election through his membership in the Orange Order and the local fire hall. He was possibly a beneficiary of municipal patronage through his occupation as a Carter, which required a license. Ultimately the trial of the accused led to an acquittal on the grounds of self-defence.[6]

Following the murder and violent attacks, Sheard and Rowell initiated legal proceedings to dispute the election results. The Court found that Dempsey had received eight votes from individuals who were not legally entitled to vote in St. John's Ward. As a result, Sheard was elected as the Alderman by a majority of 4 votes. The Court also ruled that "the freedom of the election was violated," ordering new elections for the place of Councilmen.[7] On February 20, 1855, City Council unseated Dempsey and Moodie, administered Sheard's oath of office, and called for new elections to fill the vacancy for Councilmen.[8]

Both Rowell and Moodie stood in the new election. Rowell was elected on March 1, 1855, by a majority of 10 votes.[9] There was no repeat of the violence on election day, but at least one instance of intimidation by Mr. Moodie's supporters targeting the ward's Black residents in the week before the election. A group of Moodie's supporters interrupted a meeting of Black residents refusing to allow anyone to speak in support of Rowell.[10]

Appointment of the Mayor

City Council appointed the Mayor at the first meeting after the election on January 15, 1855, selecting candidates from a list of elected Alderman. Generally, the Council considered seniority and experience.[11] The incumbent Mayor, Joshua George Beard, did not run for reelection in 1855 after experiencing a severe illness the previous winter.[12]

John Hillyard Cameron moved and John Smith seconded the resolution to elect George William Allan as Mayor. John Duggan had canvassed City Council before the meeting to secure the election but "had wisely withdrawn his name to prevent any unseemly contest." Following his unanimous election by the City Council Allan spoke to healing the Council's partisan differences, focusing on the infrastructure projects underway, and reducing taxes.[13]

City Council Results

A typical ad for the 1855 election in the Globe.

Each ward elected 2 Aldermen and 2 Councilmen. There were nine open seats in the 1855 election, and 19 members of the City Council stood for re-election. Two incumbents lost, Angus Morrison (elected to the Provincial assembly in the summer of 1854) and William Graham.[14]

St. James' Ward
Position Candidate Votes  %
AldermenC.E. Romain (X) Elected49243.5%
James Good45640.4%
Angus Morrison(X)18216.1%
CouncilmenAlexander Mortimer Smith36833.8%
John Wilson Elected32730.1%
William Kisseck14913.7%
St. Andrew's Ward
Position Candidate Votes  %
Aldermen John Carr (X) Elected 331 42.0%
R.P. Crooks Elected 282 35.7%
Ogle Robert Gowan Lost 176 22.3%
Councilmen E.B. Gilbert (X) Elected 229 27.7%
Henry Prettie Elected 229 27.7%
William Graham (X) Lost 221 26.8%
Charles Fisher Lost 147 17.8%
St. John's Ward
Position Candidate Votes  %
Aldermen John Hillyard Cameron (X) Elected 352 35.5%
Joseph Sheard (X) Elected by court order 322* 33.4%
Richard Dempsey Unseated by court order 318* 32.1%
Councilmen John Bugg (X) Elected 356 35.8%
Robert Moodie Unseated by court order 340 34.2%
Joseph Rowell (X) Elected in a by-election 298 30.0%
*Votes reflect total determined by the Court.
St. David's Ward
Position Candidate Votes  %
Aldermen George William Allan (X) Elected 382 46.9%
William Henderson Elected 328 40.2%
Charles Lynes Lost 105 12.9%
Councilmen Adam Beatty (X) Elected 342 42.9%
John Carruthers (X) Elected 297 37.3%
George Humphrey Lost 158 19.8%
St. Lawrence Ward
Position Candidate Votes  %
Aldermen John Smith Elected 226 41.2%
William Gooderham Elected 174 31.7%
Alexander Manning Lost 149 27.1%
Councilmen William Murphy (X) Elected 199 37.7%
Thomas McConkey (X) Elected 167 31.6%
James Stock Lost 162 30.7%
St. George's Ward
Position Candidate Votes  %
Aldermen John Duggan (X) Elected 136 47.6%
G.A. Philpotts Elected 102 35.7%
Frederick Chase Capreol Lost 14 4.9%
A.K. Boomer Lost 34 11.9%
Councilmen Andrew Drummond Elected 132 31.5%
Edward Wright (X) Elected 93 31.5%
James Myers Lost 70 23.7%
St. Patrick's Ward
Position Candidate Votes  %
Aldermen Johnathan Dunn (X) Elected 174 50.7%
Adam Wilson Elected 169 49.3%
Councilmen Thomas Mara (X) Elected 176 49.7%
Theophilus Earls (X) Elected 152 42.9%
W. H. Smith Lost 26 7.3%

References

  1. ↑ Smyth, William J. (2015). Toronto, the Belfast of Canada : the Orange Order and the shaping of municipal culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-4426-6676-4. OCLC 908686022.
  2. ↑ Russell, Victor Loring, ed. (1984). Forging a consensus : historical essays on Toronto. Victor Loring Russell, Toronto. Sesquicentennial Board. Toronto: Published for the Toronto Sesquicentennial Board by University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4875-8021-6. OCLC 988215315.
  3. ↑ "To the Independent Electors of the Ward of St. John". The Globe (1844-1936). December 21, 1854. p. 3.
  4. ↑ Nelles, H. Vivian (1990). "Gzowski, Sir Casimir Stanislaus". Dictionary of Canadian biography/Dictionnaire biographique du Canada. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ "The City Election: DISGRACEFUL SCENES IN ST. JOHN'S WARD". The Globe (1844-1936). January 3, 1855. p. 2.
  6. ↑ Russell 1984, pp. 99–100.
  7. ↑ "The St. John's Ward Election: Messrs. Dempsey and Moodie Unseated". The Globe (1844-1936). February 13, 1855. p. 150.
  8. ↑ "City Council Last Night". The Globe (1844-1936). February 20, 1855. p. 174.
  9. ↑ "Well done, St. John's! Mr. Rowell Elected". The Globe (1844-1936). March 2, 1855. p. 2.
  10. ↑ "St. John's Ward Election". The Globe (1844-1936). February 23, 1855. p. 186.
  11. ↑ Ure, George P. (1858). The hand-book of Toronto. Toronto ON: Lovell and Gibson. p. 142. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  12. ↑ Russell, Victor Loring (1982). Mayors of Toronto. Erin, Ont.: Boston Mills Press. p. 50. ISBN 0-919822-77-0. OCLC 9083419.
  13. ↑ "Article 3 - No Title". The Globe (1844-1936). January 16, 1855. p. 2.
  14. ↑ "The City Election". The Globe (1844-1936). January 3, 1855. p. 2.
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