Horatio Clarence Hocken (October 12, 1857 – February 18, 1937) 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,

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

, social reformer, a founder of what became the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' and Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of British America from 1914-1918. Born 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 ...

in what was pre-

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Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

, Hocken had a media career as a printer, publisher and journalist. After working as a typesetter at the ''

Toronto Globe ''The Globe'' was a newspaper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1844 by George Brown as a Reform voice. It merged with ''The Mail and Empire'' in 1936 to form ''The Globe and Mail''. History ''The Globe'' is pre-dated by a title of the same ...

'' at which he led a strike, Hocken, in 1892, Hocken was a foremen in the print room of the ''Toronto News'' when the Typographical Union went on strike. He and 20 other strikers founded the '' Evening Star'' as a strike paper with Hocken as the new paper's business manager. He subsequently left the ''Star'' and returned to the ''News'' where he became city editor. In 1905 he purchased ''The Orange Sentinel'', a weekly newspaper serving supporters of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

Local politics

He served on the

Toronto Board of Control The Board of Control of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was a part of its municipal government until it was abolished in 1969. It served as the executive committee of the Toronto City Council. When it was initially created in 1896 by mandate of the provin ...

from 1907 until 1910 when he made his first unsuccessful bid for the mayor's office and again from 1911 until 1912. He served as mayor from 1912 to 1914. He is credited with approving the Bloor Viaduct. As mayor, Hocken supported opening city parks to public use rather than being restricted to the use of athletic societies arguing that parks are for "walking in, not for athletic sports". He built public baths, installed a sewage treatment plant and a filtration plant, and the extension of the sewer system. Hocken's term also saw the distribution of free milk to children living in slums and the establishment of a public health nursing program. His reforms saw the death rate from communicable disease drop from 114 per 100,000 to 27 per 100,000. Hocken also supported the creation of a public housing company that built houses and rented them for cost. The city, under his stewardship, also purchased an abattoir and cold storage facility to help keep small butchers from being driven out of business by "the great meat trust."

Federal politics

Hocken's career in federal politics began when he was elected to 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 ...

for the Unionist Party at the

Toronto West Toronto West was a federal electoral district in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1925. This riding was created in 1903 when West Toronto riding was renamed, and reduced fr ...

riding in the 1917 federal election. He was re-elected in Toronto West in the 1921 federal election, this time under the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. When the riding boundaries were changed in 1924, he was re-elected in the

Toronto West Centre Toronto West Centre was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1935. It was located in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. This riding was creat ...

riding in the

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

and 1926 federal elections. He served in the 13th to the

16th Canadian Parliament The 16th Canadian Parliament was in session from 9 December 1926, until 30 May 1930. The membership was set by the 1926 federal election on 14 September 1926, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissol ...

s consecutively until he left federal politics in 1930. Hocken was appointed a member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

from 30 December 1933 and remained in that office until death.

Personal life

He married Isabella Page in 1880. They had four children. He died two days after she did.

References

External links

* *http://canadianorangehistoricalsite.com/Hocken.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Hocken, Horatio Clarence 1857 births 1937 deaths Canadian senators from Ontario Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Mayors of Toronto Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Unionist Party (Canada) MPs Social reformers