Toronto municipal election, 1910

Toronto's The Globe from 3 January 1910 showing the results of the 1910 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 plebiscites were passed:

1. To build a tube and surface subway transit system;
2. Election of Board of Education by wards.^[1]

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

1. Building new buildings on the Canadian Exhibition Grounds;
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

Unlike the present era, the right to vote was not universal to all citizens. Notably, since 1884, most women were still not allowed to vote as they had to be either a widow or single, and own land.^[2] There were also restrictions on which men could vote on what options. A complicated system based on what land was owned or leased decided if a person could vote on the money by-laws or not. The following excerpt from The Globe explains the process:

Every elector entitled to vote for Mayor has one vote on the subway or tube question. Every elector entitled to vote for the Board of Education has a vote on the question of returning to the ward system of electing trustees, or retaining the present system of electing trustees by general vote. The only persons entitled to vote on the three money by-laws are freeholders marked on the voters' list "M, F. & F." or "F." In previous years all persons marked on the voters' list "Lessee" had the right to vote on debenture by-laws, but the law has been changed in this regard. There are exceptions, however, where a person has a long lease which entitles him to vote. In such cases there will be an entry in the voters' list, "Entitled to vote on debenture by-laws."^[3]

Toronto mayor

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 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

_{All results are sourced from the 3 January 1910 The Globe, page one.}
Two spots opened up on the Board of Control as a result of Controllers Geary and Hocken both running for mayor. Tommy Church and Thomas Foster joined the Board for the first time and Frank S. Spence returned, this time topping the vote, after being defeated the previous year. William Spence Harrison was defeated meaning only one incumbent, Labourite J.J. Ward, was re-elected.

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

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^[4]

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^[5]

A.J. Anderson (incumbent) - acclaimed

William Alexander Baird (incumbent) - acclaimed

References

1. "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 2011-12-05. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
3. "In the civic arena". The Globe. Toronto. 1910-01-01. p. 12.
4. "Official Figures of the Election". Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1910-01-03. p. 1.
5. "Controller Geary elected mayor". The Globe. Toronto. 1910-01-03. p. 2.