Alexander McBride (August 15, 1833 – December 20, 1912)Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1936 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947 was the ninth mayor of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

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 ...

. McBride arrived in Calgary in 1886 and established a hardware store on

Stephen Avenue Stephen Avenue is a major pedestrian mall in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The mall is the portion of 8 Avenue SW between 4 Street SW and 1 Street SE. It is open to vehicles only from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The street is known for some of Ca ...

, A. McBride and Company. This was Calgary's first hardware store. During the 1890s, he spent five years on city council including one year as mayor in 1896. He narrowly won his mayoral election against incumbent

Wesley Fletcher Orr Wesley Fletcher Orr (March 3, 1831 – February 16, 1898) was a Canadian businessman, journalist, and politician. He was the eighth mayor of the city of Calgary, Alberta. Orr was born in Lachute, Lower Canada on March 3, 1831 to Samuel G. P. O ...

. After his term, McBride did not seek re-election. This allowed Orr to return uncontested to the mayoral seat. Prior to moving to Calgary, McBride was a

tinsmith A tinsmith is a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession may sometimes also be known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profession, though the same wo ...

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 ...

, Ontario. There, he and his wife, Lucy, built in 1874 the home located at 504 Colborne Street. Lucy's asthma was the motivating factor for their move to Calgary. Early in the 1900s, he left Calgary and spent time in

Fort Steele, British Columbia Fort Steele is a heritage site in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This visitor attraction lies on the east shore of the Kootenay River between the mouths of the St. Mary River and Wild Horse River. The locality, on the m ...

Cranbrook, British Columbia Cranbrook ( ) is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary River (British Columbia), St. Mary's River. It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the ...

, and

Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education. ...

. Edward, the oldest of his six children, took over his business. McBride died in

Galt, Ontario Galt is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario on the Grand River. Prior to 1973, it was an independent city, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the town of Hespeler, Ontario, the to ...

in 1912.

References

1912 deaths 1833 births Tinsmiths Mayors of Calgary Canadian people of Scottish descent Calgary city councillors 19th-century Canadian politicians {{Alberta-mayor-stub