Herbert Gordon Armstrong (1905 - 1993) 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, who served as mayor of

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

from 1950 to 1958."Mayor Gordon Armstrong – 1950"
Hougen Group of Companies. Born in Whitewood,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

,"Recognition of death of Gordon Armstrong"

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official print ...

of the

Yukon Legislative Assembly The Yukon Legislative Assembly (french: Assemblée législative du Yukon) is the legislative assembly for Yukon, Canada. Unique among Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada, three territories, the Yukon Legislative Assembly is the only terri ...

, April 29, 1993. Armstrong moved to Whitehorse to work as a butcher for the Burns Meat Packing Company. He won election in 1950 as Whitehorse's first mayor."First Council For The City Of Whitehorse"
''

Whitehorse Star The ''Whitehorse Star'' is one of two newspapers in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. When founded in 1900 it appeared only once a week, and its progress to Monday through Friday publication occurred in fits and starts; it was issued twice a week for a ...

'', August 1, 1950. When he was first elected mayor, Whitehorse was still a small frontier town with little municipal infrastructure and no

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

; the council rented meeting rooms from various commercial companies until taking over a vacated

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

building. Initially challenged by the city's almost complete lack of any significant

tax base A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...

to fund municipal services, Armstrong soon oversaw a rapid influx of

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

funding after Whitehorse was named the new

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

of Yukon in 1951. In 1954, Armstrong left his job with the Burns Company to launch Yukon Sales, a

wholesaler Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In g ...

which imported and transported commercial goods not widely available in the territory. In his capacity as mayor, in the same year he launched the most ambitious program of his term, winning a plebiscite on a $10 per month municipal tax to fund the construction of the city's water and sewer systems. He stepped down as mayor in 1958, and moved 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 ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, in 1962. He remained a partner in Yukon Sales, making regular business trips back to Whitehorse. In 1978, he was granted the honorary title of Mayor Emeritus by the incumbent city council. He died on April 28, 1993, in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

. The day after his death, statements of tribute were delivered in the

Legislative Assembly of Yukon The Yukon Legislative Assembly (french: Assemblée législative du Yukon) is the legislative assembly for Yukon, Canada. Unique among Canada's three territories, the Yukon Legislative Assembly is the only territorial legislature which is organiz ...

by MLAs Doug Phillips and

Tony Penikett Antony David John "Tony" Penikett (born November 14, 1945) is a mediator and negotiator and former politician in Yukon, Canada, who served as the third premier of Yukon from 1985 to 1992. Early life and political activity Born in Sussex, Engla ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Gordon 1905 births 1993 deaths Mayors of Whitehorse People from Whitewood, Saskatchewan