Joseph Andrew Clarke (September 20, 1869 – July 27, 1941) 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 and lawyer. He served twice as mayor of
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
, Alberta, was a candidate for election 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 Commo ...
and the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from si ...
, and was a member of the
Yukon Territorial Council The Yukon Territorial Council was a political body in the Canadian territory of Yukon, prior to the creation of the Yukon Legislative Assembly. Although not a full legislature, the council acted as an advisory body to the Commissioner of Yukon, an ...
(precursor to the
Yukon Legislative Assembly).
Early life
Clarke was born in Osnabruck Center,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. He was educated in
Prescott and
Brockville, Ontario
Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with ...
, and joined the
North-West Mounted Police
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territo ...
in 1892 in
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...
. He returned to Ontario shortly thereafter, only to be charged by the RNWMP with
desertion
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...
. He was fined one hundred dollars, but received no further sanction in part because the magistrate was his uncle.
After his brief policing career, Clarke studied law at
Osgoode Hall
Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgood ...
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 anch ...
, Ontario. Upon graduating, he moved to the
Yukon
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
to take part in the
Klondike gold rush. While there, he was admitted to the bar and spent two years (1903–1904) as an appointed member of the Yukon Territorial Council.
He moved to Edmonton to practice law in 1908. Once there, he married
Gwendolen Asbury on October 9, 1911; the pair had three children.
Edmonton politics
Joseph Clarke ran in a total of twenty-seven Edmonton municipal elections, more than any person before or since (as municipal elections in Edmonton now occur only every four years, this record is unlikely ever to be broken). In all, he ran for mayor seventeen times (winning five such elections) and for alderman ten times (being elected three times).
Clarke's first attempt at municipal office took place during the
February 1912 election, when he ran for the position of alderman on
Edmonton City Council
The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Edmonton currently has one mayor and twelve city councillors. Elections are held every four years. The most recent was held in 2021, and the next is in 20 ...
. He was elected to a one-year term. Rather than seek re-election in
the next election, he ran for mayor, finishing in last place in a three candidate field.
He returned to city council after being elected to a two-year term as an alderman in the
1913 election. During this council term, he forged a temporary alliance with mayor
William McNamara
William West McNamara (born March 31, 1965) is an American film and television actor.
Personal life
Born in Dallas, Texas, McNamara is the son of a Ford Motor Company employee and an interior designer. He attended Salisbury School, Columbia Un ...
against those who wanted to drive prostitution and gambling out of the city. The alliance disintegrated after the two came to blows in a council meeting. Clarke lost his re-election, bid, finishing eighth of fourteen candidates in the
1915 election. Unsuccessful bids for mayor followed in
1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled.
* J ...
and
1917
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...
before he was elected to that office in the
1918
This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide.
Events
Below, the events ...
.
During his first term as mayor, Clarke was confronted with a citywide strike in support of the
Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. Clarke was sympathetic to the strikers, and when the
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
's
Royal Commission on Industrial Relations (the Mather Commission) stopped in Edmonton, he joined labour leaders in presenting a list of twenty-nine demands, including the right to collective bargaining, the eight-hour day, price controls, and workers' rights to run and hold public office. He also resisted the use of strikebreakers (despite strong advocacy from the Edmonton Board of Trade and alderman
Charles Grant Charles or Charlie Grant may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Charles Jameson Grant (), American editorial cartoonist
* Charles L. Grant (1942–2006), American novelist
* Charles Grant (actor) (born 1957), American actor
* Charles Grant (dance ...
), for which he was accused by the
Edmonton Journal
The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network.
History
The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...
and
Edmonton Bulletin
The ''Edmonton Bulletin'' was a newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta, published from 1880 until January 20, 1951. It was founded by Edmonton pioneer Frank Oliver, a future Liberal politician and cabinet minister in the Canadian Government.
Oliver co-f ...
of succumbing to the "Soviet power" of the Edmonton Trade & Labour Council (ET&LC). Instead, he and alderman
J. A. Kinney negotiated with the ET&LC's strike committee (which included future city mayors
Elmer Ernest Roper
Elmer Ernest Roper (June 4, 1893 – November 12, 1994) was a Canadian businessman, trade unionist and politician. He was a Alberta Co-operative Commonwealth Federation member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1942-1955, and mayor of E ...
and
Daniel Kennedy Knott
Daniel Kennedy Knott (July 1, 1879 – November 26, 1959) was a labour activist and politician in Alberta, Canada and a mayor of Edmonton. He had associations with the Canadian branch of the Ku Klux Klan.
Early life
Dan Knott was born in Co ...
and future alderman
Alfred Farmilo
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interl ...
) to allow the continued provision of certain services.
Clarke was re-elected mayor in the
1919 election, but a concerted effort by the Board of Trade and the two local papers saw him defeated by
David Duggan in the
1920 election. His attempt to regain his old job in the
1922 election failed, as he finished second of six candidates. He was elected again as an alderman in the
1924 election for a two-year term, but resigned after one year in order to run for mayor in the
1925 election. He finished third of six candidates.
There followed a decade in the political wilderness, marked by unsuccessful runs for mayor (in
1926
Events January
* January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece.
* January 8
**Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...
,
1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General.
* January 7
...
,
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...
, and
1933
Events
January
* January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand.
* January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
) and alderman (in
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...
,
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
,
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...
, and
1931
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
* January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
* January 22 – Sir I ...
), before he was returned to the office of mayor in the
1934 election. While he had lost the office fourteen years earlier for being too friendly to organized labour, his opponents in 1934 included Knott and labour alderman
Rice Sheppard
Rice Sheppard (April 2, 1861 – August 26, 1947) was a politician and farmers' activist in Alberta, Canada. He served on Edmonton City Council for many years, ran for mayoral, provincial, and federal office, and was an executive member of the Un ...
. He was re-elected in
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
and
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
(defeating future mayor and labour advocate
Harry Dean Ainlay
Harry Dean Ainlay (January 3, 1887 – March 12, 1970) was a Canadian educator and politician, noted for his many years of service in Edmonton, Alberta, as a teacher and principal with Edmonton Public Schools and as a long time member of Edmonto ...
on this second occasion). It was during this term that he laid the groundwork for a football stadium on the site of a closed federal prison. This stadium was eventually named
Clarke Stadium
Clarke Stadium is a multipurpose facility located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The stadium was originally used for Canadian football. Over the years different sports have participated at the site. Presently, it is the home of the Edmonton Hus ...
in his honour.
Joseph Clarke was defeated in the
1937 election by
John Wesley Fry
John Wesley Fry (December 5, 1876 – December 23, 1946) was a politician in Alberta, Canada and a mayor of Edmonton.
Biography Early life
John Fry was born in Woodstock, Ontario on December 5, 1876. He grew up in Woodstock and Owen Sound a ...
. He ran in every municipal election until the end of his life (for mayor in
1938
Events
January
* January 1
** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime.
** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France ...
and for alderman in
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
and
1940
A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* Januar ...
) but never again held political office.
Provincial politics
Joseph Clarke was a perennial candidate for the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from si ...
, running provincially five times.
He first ran in the
1913 Alberta general election
The 1913 Alberta general election was held in March 1913. The writ was dropped on 25 March 1913 and election day was held 17 April 1913 to elect 56 members to the 3rd Alberta Legislature. Elections in two northern districts took place on 30 July ...
as a parachute candidate in the controversial
Clearwater electoral district for
Charles M. O'Brien
Charles Macnamara (Charlie) O'Brien (March 2, 1875 – February 23, 1952) was a Canadians, Canadian socialist activist and politician in Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1909 to 1913.
Biography
O'Brie ...
's
Socialist Party of Alberta. He was defeated by
Liberal Henry William McKenney
Henry William McKenney (February 24, 1848 – March 11, 1921) was a politician from Alberta, Canada.
McKenney was born in Ontario, the son of a merchant and sailor. After attending schooling, he moved to Manitoba, where soon after he took part i ...
, the incumbent
M.L.A. for
Pembina.
Clarke next ran in the
1917 election as an independent in
Edmonton East
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...
. He finished third of four candidates - the only candidate he defeated was Sydney Keeling, of Clarke's old Socialist Party.
He ran again in the
1926 Alberta general election
The 1926 Alberta general election was held on June 28, 1926, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The United Farmers of Alberta government that had first been elected in 1921 was re-elected, taking a majority of the seats in t ...
as an independent
Liberal in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
district. He finished fourth of eighteen candidates on the first count, which would have been sufficient to win one of the riding's five seats under a
plurality voting system
Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per ...
; however, the district used a
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
system that allowed more generally popular candidates to pass him on subsequent counts. One of the candidates to do so was
David Duggan, the same businessman who had defeated Clarke in his mayoral re-election bid in 1920.
Clarke's fourth attempt at provincial office took place during the
1930 election, when he sought election in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
as an independent. He finished sixteenth of seventeen candidates. He was thus eliminated early in the STV vote counting process.
Clarke's final provincial election was a 1937 by-election in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
caused by the death of incumbent
Liberal G.H. Van Allen. Clarke ran as a "People's Candidate" and was backed by the new
Alberta Social Credit Party
Alberta Social Credit was a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on social credit monetary policy put forward by Clifford Hugh Douglas and on conservative Christian social values. The Canadian social credit movement w ...
government, which did not field a candidate. He finished second, as Liberal leader
Edward Leslie Gray
Edward Leslie Gray (April 8, 1895 – June 13, 1992) was a politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from Alberta, Canada.
Gray was born April 8, 1895, in Maple Valley, Ontario to Samuel Gray and Mary Taylor, both of Irish ...
retained the seat for his party, which was backed by the
Conservatives
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 in ...
under the so-called "Unity Movement". Clarke was mayor of Edmonton at the time of this by-election.
Federal politics
Clarke was a perennial candidate in Federal elections, running unsuccessfully four times. He made his first bid for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons, running as a
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 in ...
candidate in the a 1902 by-election in the
Yukon
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
electoral district. He was defeated by
James Hamilton Ross
James Hamilton Ross (May 12, 1856 – December 14, 1932) was a Canadian politician, the third commissioner of Yukon, and an ardent defender of territorial rights. He is also considered to be the first resident of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
E ...
. He made his second bid while still living in the Yukon in the
1908 federal election and was once again defeated, this time by
Frederick Congdon.
Clarke did not make another run for federal office until 13 years later, when he ran in
Edmonton East
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...
for the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...
in the
1921 federal election (he was a personal friend of then-Liberal leader and soon to be
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...
). He finished second to
Progressive candidate
Donald Ferdinand Kellner
Donald Ferdinand Kellner (September 15, 1879 – April 1, 1935) was a politician from Alberta, Canada.
Kellner was elected as a Progressive/UFA candidate to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1921 Canadian federal election in the Edmonton ...
. His final run for federal office was in
Peace River
The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in ...
again running for the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...
in the
1926 Canadian federal election
The 1926 Canadian federal election was held on September 14, 1926, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 16th Parliament of Canada. The election was called after an event known as the King–Byng affair.
In the 1925 feder ...
. He was defeated by
Donald MacBeth Kennedy finishing third in a field of three candidates.
Personal life, death, and legacy
Clarke was an accomplished athlete, and excelled at
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
, and
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
. He was also known for his penchant for violence, and was nicknamed "Fightin' Joe" as a result.
He was accused of involvement in prostitution and gambling rings, which tarnished his political career.
Joseph Andrew Clarke died in his sleep July 26, 1941, less than a year after contesting his last election.
Clarke Stadium
Clarke Stadium is a multipurpose facility located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The stadium was originally used for Canadian football. Over the years different sports have participated at the site. Presently, it is the home of the Edmonton Hus ...
and Joe Clarke Athletic Grounds were named in his honour.
His wife,
Gwendolen
Gwendolen () is a feminine given name, in general use only since the 19th century.
It has come to be the standard English form of Latin '' Guendoloena'', which was first used by Geoffrey of Monmouth as the name of a legendary British queen in hi ...
, served on the
Edmonton City Council
The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Edmonton currently has one mayor and twelve city councillors. Elections are held every four years. The most recent was held in 2021, and the next is in 20 ...
from 1942 to 1943, after his death.
References
Edmonton Public Library Biography of Joseph ClarkeCity of Edmonton biography of Joseph Clarke*
*
Chapter 5 of the Edmonton Public Library's history of Edmonton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Joseph
1869 births
1941 deaths
Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) candidates for the Canadian House of Commons
Independent candidates in Alberta provincial elections
Lawyers in Alberta
Candidates in the 1921 Canadian federal election
Candidates in the 1926 Canadian federal election
Mayors of Edmonton
Members of the Yukon Territorial Council
Osgoode Hall Law School alumni
People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers
Socialist Party of Alberta candidates in Alberta provincial elections
Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons
20th-century Canadian politicians