George Blanchard (March 3, 1891 – July 19, 1978) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born architect and politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He served as mayor of Port Arthur in 1933. He was born in

Kingston-upon-Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east o ...

and came to Canada in 1903. Blanchard trained as an architect's assistant in Regina and then worked as a

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for m ...

for the Saskatchewan Department of Public Works. From 1912 to 1915, he was chief assistant to

Walter William LaChance Walter William LaChance (1870–1951) was a Canadian architect best known for his designs of rural schools, although he also designed numerous buildings of other types. His commissions were concentrated in Cleveland, Ohio, Hamilton, Ontario, Wella ...

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. Blanchard next worked for

C. D. Howe Clarence Decatur Howe, (15 January 1886 – 31 December 1960) was an American-born Canadian engineer, businessman and Liberal Party politician. Howe served as a cabinet minister in the governments of prime ministers William Lyon Mackenzie ...

& Company and came to Port Arthur in 1917 to supervise the construction of several

grain elevator A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...

s; in 1920, he took over William Hood's architectural business. He designed a number of prominent public and commercial buildings in the area. From 1952 to 1961, he was resident architect in Northwestern Ontario for the Ontario government. Blanchard served on Port Arthur council from 1931 to 1932. He was defeated by Charles Cox when he ran for reelection as mayor in 1934, gathering 2,008 votes to Cox's 2,957. He also served 17 years as treasurer for

Shuniah Shuniah () is a municipal township bordering the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada on the east. Shuniah was incorporated by an act of the Ontario legislature in 1873, and at that time included much of present-day Thunder Bay and its predecesso ...

municipality and was president of the local

Children's Aid Society Children's Aid, formerly the Children's Aid Society, is a private child welfare nonprofit in New York City founded in 1853 by Charles Loring Brace. With an annual budget of over $100 million, 45 citywide sites, and over 1,200 full-time employee ...

. He died in

Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped establish the Coldstream Ranch in nearby ...

at the age of 87.

References

1891 births 1978 deaths British emigrants to Canada Mayors of Port Arthur, Ontario Canadian architects {{Ontario-mayor-stub