James Edward Smith (December 25, 1831March 9, 1892) was a Canadian businessman and politician who served as the

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 ...

. He was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, and moved to

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 ...

, Canada, as a child. He operated a grocery business and was involved in real estate and insurance. He was elected to the

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

in 1857, and the council elected Smith as the city's mayor in 1867. He oversaw the

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

celebrations and was reelected in 1868. He did not want to be considered for a third term, but remained on the council until 1870. He continued operating his businesses and was a collector of customs at the port of Toronto until a scandal precipitated his retirement in 1879. He died in Toronto on March 9, 1892.

Early life and business career

James Edward Smith was born in

, England, and Smith's family moved to

, Canada, in 1841. He studied law in

Henry Sherwood Henry Sherwood, (1807 – July 7, 1855) was a lawyer and Tory politician in the Province of Canada. He was involved in provincial and municipal politics. Born into a Loyalist family in Brockville in Augusta Township, Upper Canada, he stud ...

's law office, but did not complete his education. In the late 1850s he ran a grocer near Toronto. The grocer moved to downtown Toronto by 1861, and was called James E. Smith & Co. The business was profitable by importing grocery items and alcoholic beverages. Smith invested the money from the business into real estate. He was also a manager of the British Empire Life Insurance Company.

Political career

Smith was elected to the

in 1857 for the St. John's ward as a councillor and was reelected to the position the following year. In 1859 he was elected as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

. In the early 1860s he was elected to the city's finance and assessments committee. In 1867, the city switched back to having the city council appoint a mayor instead of electing the position by popular vote. The city council rejected six nominations and reporters suggested that Smith was withholding his name until all other viable contenders for the mayoralty were defeated and had successfully lobbied to obtain the requisite number of votes for his candidacy before he was nominated, thus ensuring his success. Smith was successful upon being nominated and won by one vote. His mayoralty was considered a success, overseeing economic prosperity in the city. He was the presiding officer of the city's celebrations for

in 1867. He was reelected to the mayoralty in 1868. In November 1868 he was appointed as the collector of customs at the port of Toronto and stated that he would refuse consideration to be mayor the following year. He returned to the council as an alderman instead, remaining in the position until 1870.

Post-political career

When his son joined Smith to help run his business, Smith's company was renamed J. E. and A. W. Smith. Smith remained as the collector of customs until 1879, when he resigned after a public controversy. He transferred most of the responsibilities for his business to his son, though continued to become wealthy from the growth of insurance investments in the late 1800s. He died in Toronto on March 9, 1892.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James Edward 1831 births 1892 deaths Mayors of Toronto Politicians from London Businesspeople from London