Andrew Davison (December 18, 1886 – April 6, 1963) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, printer and 24th Mayor of Calgary. He served as alderman 1922 to 1926 and mayor 1929 to 1945. He also served as a member of the Alberta Legislature 1940 to 1948.

Early life

Andrew Davison was born on December 18, 1886 in

Moneymore Moneymore () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,897 in the 2011 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. It is an example of a plantation village in Mid-Ulster built by the Drap ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

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to Andrew Davison and Clara Williamson. He arrived in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

in 1895 and received his education in both

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, and attended Business College in Winnipeg. He married Effie Huggins on December 3, 1912. Prior to entering politics, Davison worked as a printer, a linotype operator and publisher and was associated with the ''

Calgary Albertan The ''Calgary Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia. First published in 1980, the tabloid-format daily replaced the long-running tabloid-size newspaper ''The Albertan'' soon after it was acq ...

'', the News Telegram, and

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

from after the war to 1929. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

from 1914–1918, he served overseas in the London

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

as a Pay Sergeant with the Canadian Army Pay Corps, he was unable to enlist for active combat due to an "eyesight handicap". He served as Pay Master of the Second Battalion,

Calgary Highlanders The Calgary Highlanders is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve infantry regiment, headquartered at Mewata Armouries in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The regiment is a part-time reserve unit, under the command of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, itself part of L ...

, with the rank of captain, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Political career

The Queen Mother, Mayor Andrew Davison Calgary 1939

Andrew Davison was first elected to Calgary City Council in the 1921 Calgary municipal election as a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate, his election occurred while he was working at the Calgary Herald as a printer. He served four terms as Alderman from 1922 to 1926. Then in 1929 he was acclaimed as mayor of Calgary on November 12, 1929. He was re-elected Mayor another seven times, serving a total of sixteen years as the City's Chief Magistrate, a record unequalled before or since. During Davison's term as mayor, the ambitious and controversial

Glenmore Dam Glenmore may refer to: Australia * Glenmore, Queensland, a suburban district of Rockhampton, Queensland ** Glenmore Homestead, Rockhampton, an historic property near Rockhampton, Queensland * Glenmore, Victoria *Glenmore Park, New South Wales ** Gl ...

waterworks system was completed. The Glenmore Dam and other capital projects placed the City of Calgary heavily into debt, and in 1937 Davison along with Jules Fortain and former mayor Frederick Ernest Osborne proposed the "Fortain Plan" which consolidated the municipality's debt, and shifted the financial burden to future years. This financial adjustment enabled Calgary to afford upgrades to power and transportation services. Under Davison the City of Calgary began paying Aldermen for their services, with $50 per standing committee meeting attended with a yearly cap of $250. In 1945, due to ill health, Davison resigned his position as Mayor of Calgary but kept his seat in the Legislature until his term was over. Davison attempted to enter federal politics in 1935, contesting the

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These w ...

district for the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

in the

1935 Canadian federal election The 1935 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 1935, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Min ...

as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate. He was defeated by

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

candidate

Charles Edward Johnston Charles Edward Johnston (February 12, 1899 – December 1, 1971) was a teacher and a long serving Canadian politician. He served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada for the opposition federal Social Credit party from 1935 to 1958. He m ...

. Davison ran for the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

in the

1940 Alberta general election The 1940 Alberta general election was held on March 21, 1940, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Despite its failure to implement its key policy, providing prosperity certificates to all Albertans, the Social Credit Party ...

in the

district as the leader of the Independent Movement, which sought to unite the opposition to

. He was elected and then re-elected in

1944 Alberta general election The 1944 Alberta general election was held on August 8, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Overview The election was the first contested by leader Ernest C. Manning. Previously Provincial Secretary, he became leader ...

. He continued to serve as both mayor and a member in the Legislature. He did not run again in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. Following his resignation from the Alberta Legislature, Davison retired to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, where he died several years later on April 6, 1963 at the age of 76.

Honours

The Andrew Davison Building, a 13 floor building located at 133 6 Avenue SE and the former home of the

Calgary Police Service Calgary Police Service (CPS) is the municipal police service of the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Alberta and third largest municipal force in Canada behind the Toronto Police Service and the Mont ...

headquarters is named in his honour. There is also a Calgary Board of Education school named after him: Andrew Davison School.

References

Mayors of Calgary Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) candidates for the Canadian House of Commons 1886 births 1963 deaths Independent Alberta MLAs People from County Londonderry Irish emigrants to Canada (before 1923) 20th-century Canadian politicians {{Alberta-politician-stub