Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1904.
Thomas Urquhart was
acclaimed to a second term. 1904 was the first time the
Toronto Board of Control, the executive committee of Toronto, was directly elected, after the Ontario legislature passed a law requiring municipal
boards of control to be chosen through
direct election by the municipality's voters.[1] Previously,
Toronto City Council chose four alderman to sit on the body, which would be chaired by the mayor.[2]
Four members of the
Toronto Board of Control were directly elected for the first time. Previously, Controllers were four alderman chosen by city council, with Aldermen Loudon, Oliver, Burns and Richardson being appointed to the outgoing Board of Control.[3] Seven of the eight candidates were sitting aldermen: First Ward Alderman Richardson, Second Ward Aldermen Spence and Oliver, Third Ward Alderman Loudon, Fourth Ward Aldermen Burns and Hubbard, Fifth Ward Alderman Starr. The eight candidate, John Shaw, was a former mayor. Several months after the election, Controller Richardson resigned after his election agent was charged with accepting bribes from the
Toronto Railway Company, a private
streetcar company. Shaw was then elected to the Board of Control in a by-election.[2][4]
William Peyton Hubbard, whose parents were
slaves who had fled to Toronto through the
Underground Railroad, was the first
person of colour to be elected to Toronto City Council and was one of the first
Black people to be elected to any office in
Canada. As of 2020, he is the only person of colour to be elected to city-wide office in Toronto.[5]
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abcdefFEW SURPRISES IN TORONTO CIVIC ELECTIONS: Spence, London, Hubbard, Richardson, Controllers Only Four Men in the New Council Who Were Not in the Old They Are Coatsworth, Geary, S, A. Jones and Crane The Election For the New Board of Education Resulted in Return of Many Public School Trustees-- Mr. B. E. Walker Elected by a Handsome Majority, The Globe (1844-1936); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]02 Jan 1904: 5
^"FIRST MEETING OF NEW COUNCIL: Board of Control Elected on the First Ballot THE MAYOR'S INAUGURAL Wm. Burns, Loudon, Oliver and Richardson Mayor Urquhart Urges More Power For the Board of Control-- The Standing Committees and Their Chairmen", The Globe (1844-1936); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]13 Jan 1903: 4
^SHAW AND RICHARDSON: ONLY TWO CANDIDATES IN THE BYE-ELECTION Ex-Ald. Denison Retires in Favor of Ex-Mayor Shaw-- Ex-Controller Richardson's Explanations-- Ex- Mayor Shaw Opposes Party Politics in Municipal Affairs, The Globe (1844-1936); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]23 Apr 1904: 16.
^"City's political class remains mostly colourless", Royson, James. Toronto Star; Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]19 Feb 2015: GT.2.
^"THE SANITARIUM GRANT: CAMPAIGN OPENED TO EXPLAIN AND FORWARD IT Speeches by Controller Richardson, Dr. Barrick, Rev. Dr. Eby and Others-- Stereopticon Views Shown of Voting in Council, The Globe (1844-1936); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]12 Dec 1903: 28
^ALDERMANIC NOMINATIONS: Forty-two Candidates in the Six Wards EIGHTEEN TO BE ELECTED Breezy Discussions of Many Civic Issues Ward Meetings Well Attended-- Work of This Year's Council Generally Commended-- Cattle Market the Issue in the Fifth Ward, The Globe (1844-1936); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]24 Dec 1903: 9.