Harold Fisher, (November 1, 1877 – 1928) was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

from 1917 to 1920 and a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MPP from 1923 to 1926. He grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

where he attended the Jarvis Collegiate Institute, the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, and then got his law degree from Osgoode Hall. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1902. He moved to

in 1903 and became one of that city's most important lawyers. He was elected as an Alderman in 1913 and became mayor in 1917. As mayor his most important accomplishment was founding the Ottawa Civic hospital. Built in the still largely agricultural area west of the city at a cost of some two million dollars, the hospital project was controversial, but Fisher felt it was important after the city had been devastated by the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. In 1920, he became a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

. In 1923, he was elected to the

provincial legislature In South Africa, a provincial legislature is the legislative branch of the government of a province.'' Chapter 6: Provinces'', Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The provincial legislatures are unicameral and vary in size from 30 ...

representing the riding of

Ottawa West Ottawa West was a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1997 and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1908 to 1926 and from 1955 to 1999. It cover ...

and was made opposition finance critic with the

s. He served on the board of the Civic Hospital from 1924 until his death. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

in 1928. Ottawa's

Fisher Park High School Fisher Park High School (1949–1987) is a closed High School in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located within a kilometre of Island Park Drive, at 250 Holland Ave., Fisher Park's student population included children of many of Ottawa's wealthier c ...

and Fisher Avenue are both named after him.

References

* '' Capital lives : 32 profiles of leading Ottawa personalities'', Valerie Knowles (2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Harold 1877 births 1928 deaths Mayors of Ottawa Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Lawyers in Ontario Canadian King's Counsel University of Toronto alumni 20th-century Canadian lawyers Deaths from pneumonia in Canada