Joseph Russell (October 1, 1868 – December 14, 1925) was a Toronto businessman and politician. The eldest son of John Russell, who was a brick maker and stone cutter,
/ref> Joseph Russell was a brick manufacturer owning the brickworks at 1308 Queen Street East at Alton Avenue. He provided much of the supplies used in the original construction of the

Toronto Railway Company The Toronto Railway Company (TRC) was the operator of the streetcar system in Toronto between 1891 and 1921. It electrified the horsecar system it inherited from the Toronto Street Railway, the previous operator of streetcar service in Toronto. ...

's paintshop in 1913 and it is thought the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...

Russell Carhouse The Russell Carhouse, located at Queen Street East and Connaught Avenue just east of Greenwood Avenue in Toronto, is the Toronto Transit Commission's second oldest carhouse. Russell Carhouse used to store and maintain high-floor streetcars whic ...

may be named after him.Russell (Connaught) Carhouse
Transit Toronto Russell was a candidate for the Ontario legislature in 1908 but was unsuccessful. He was then nominated as an Independent candidate against incumbent

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP Albert Edward Kemp in

Toronto East Toronto East (called East Toronto until 1903) was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1935. It was located in the city of Toronto in the provinces and territories of ...

. Kemp's opponents accused him of neglecting constituents as well as hiring foreign workers at poor pay at the expense of Canadian workers. Russell, by contrast, was a brick manufacturer and was praised for offering rates of pay that allowed workers to "live in houses of their own, and not herd a dozen into a room." Russell defeated Kemp by almost 800 votes in a two man contest in the 1908 federal election. Kemp poured his efforts into rebuilding the Conservative Party and defeated Russell three years later in the 1911 election. He returned to provincial politics and won a seat in the 1914 provincial election. Russell served as the

member for Riverdale from 1914 until 1919.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Joseph 1868 births 1925 deaths Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Canadian manufacturing businesspeople Brick manufacturers Businesspeople from Toronto