John Thomas Moore (3 July 1844 – 5 June 1917) was a Canadian businessman and politician from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Early life

John Thomas Moore was born 3 July 1844, in the Markham Township of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

to William Kerr and Isabella Moore. He attended school in

Berlin, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

where his father would become a successful businessman. Moore served as the deputy registrar of

Waterloo County, Ontario Waterloo County was a county in the Canadian province of Ontario from 1853 until 1973. It was the direct predecessor of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Situated on a subset of land within the Haldimand Tract, the traditional territory of ...

from 1864 to 1870, and then 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 ...

to study medicine and law, until abandoning those pursuits and moving to insurance and accounting. He married Annie Addison on 23 August 1871, and had three children together, and married again after the death of Annie in 1911, to Alice Rogers Forbes on 3 June 1914. Moore served as an Alderman on

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 ...

from 1883 to 1884. During the late-19th century, Moore became a land speculator and purchased the area that has since been named in his honour, Moore Park. To increase the value of his land, he then constructed a bridge (the original Vale of Avoca) and helped promote the Belt Line Railway, an early public transit system serving the "suburbs" of

. After the Belt Line was constructed, recession forced its closure after only 18 months of operation. Its railbed has since been converted into the

Beltline Trail The Beltline Trail is a -long cycling and walking rail trail in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consists of three sections, the York Beltline Trail west of Allen Road, the Kay Gardner Beltline Park from the Allen to Mount Pleasant Road, and the Ra ...

. Moore acquired land in along the Red Deer River and moved the base of his operations to

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

in 1901, although his family continued to live in Toronto. Moore became the publishing editor of the ''Red Deer Advocate'' and started the Western Telephone Company and Western General Electric Company in 1903.

Political career

Moore was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the

1905 Alberta general election The 1905 Alberta general election was the first general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on November 9, 1905, to elect twenty-five members of the Alberta legislature to the 1st Alberta Legislative Assembly, shortly after the provi ...

defeating high-profile Conservative candidate and the founder of Red Deer Leonard Gaetz. Moore was supporter of prohibition and stood in the Legislature to propose the abolition of the "bar", which he called a "drunkard factory". He was also an advocate of awarding the provincial capital to Red Deer. Moore attempted to run for a second term in office but was defeated in the

1909 Alberta general election The 1909 Alberta general election was the second general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on March 22, 1909, to elect 41 members of the Alberta legislature to the 2nd Alberta Legislature. The incumbent Liberal Party led by Premi ...

by Independent candidate

Edward Michener Edward Michener (August 18, 1869 – June 16, 1947) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and senator from Alberta. Early life Edward Michener was born on August 18, 1867, to Jac ...

Later life

Moore return to Toronto and died there of a heart attack in 1917. Moore's will provided his new wife inherited everything with a minor legacy to his daughter, while his sons got nothing.

References

''Moore Park''

External links

*
Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, John Thomas 1844 births 1917 deaths Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Canadian businesspeople

Early life

Political career

Later life

See also

References

External links