Robert Aloysius Allen (April 21, 1888 – August 21, 1969) was a Canadian businessman and politician in

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 a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1934 to 1937 who represented the downtown

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 ...

riding of Riverdale.

Background

The son of William Allen and Mary Badger, he came to Canada in 1904. In 1919, Allen married Julien McDonnell, the daughter of Randall McDonnell. Together, they raised two sons. His elder son,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, later served as Metro Toronto Chairman. Allen was president of Allen Drugs Ltd.

Politics

Allen served on Toronto city council from 1927 to 1930, and in 1933. He ran unsuccessfully for the

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 ...

seat in the Canadian House of Commons in 1930 as a Liberal, losing to Conservative

Edmond Baird Ryckman Edmond Baird Ryckman, (April 15, 1866 – January 11, 1934) was a Canadian politician. His father, E.B. Ryckman, was a Methodist minister. He was educated at Brantford Collegiate Institute, the University of Toronto, and Osgoode Hall. Bor ...

. In the 1934 provincial election, he ran as the

candidate in the riding of Riverdale. He defeated incumbent Conservative candidate George Oakley by 584 votes. He served as a backbench supporter of Premier

Mitchell Hepburn Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the 20th cent ...

. In the 1937 election, he was defeated by Conservative candidate

William Summerville William Arthur Summerville (July 8, 1879 – November 19, 1958) was a municipal and provincial politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1937 to 1943 who represented ...

by 2,654 votes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Robert Aloysius 1888 births 1969 deaths Ontario Liberal Party MPPs British emigrants to Canada