John McMurrich (February 3, 1804 – February 13, 1883) was a businessman and political figure in

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

and later

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 C ...

. He was born near Paisley, Scotland in 1804 and came to

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 th ...

in 1833 to work in a York (

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 ...

) dry goods business affiliated with a

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

-based firm. He became a partner in 1837. McMurrich served on Toronto city council in 1860. He was elected to the

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known ...

in an 1862 by-election. He served on the Public School Board in Toronto for a number of years and was chairman from 1865 to 1867 and in 1870. In 1867, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for

York North York North was a federal riding in Ontario, Canada, that was in the House of Commons of Canada from Confederation in 1867 until 2004. The federal riding was eliminated in 2003 when it was redistributed between two new ridings of Newmarket—A ...

as 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 ...

; he was defeated in 1871. He was a member of the Toronto Board of Trade and served as president for a number of Toronto companies. He died in Toronto in 1883. His eldest son, William Barclay McMurrich, was a mayor of Toronto. His second son, George McMurrich, was a long-time 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 c ...

."Ald. M'Murrich Lost Battle with Death", Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario oronto, Ontario 08 Sep 1913: 11. Another son, J. Playfair McMurrich, became a distinguished zoologist.

Legacy

McMurrich name bears on a few places in Ontario: *

McMurrich/Monteith McMurrich/Monteith is a municipality and census subdivision in the Almaguin Highlands region of Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada. The municipality was formed in 1998 through an amalgamation of the former Township of McMurrich and the eastern ...

is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and

census subdivision The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of stat ...

in Ontario named after McMurrich. * McMurrich Street and McMurrich Junior Public School in Toronto are named in his honour.

References

External links

*
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcmurrich, John 1804 births 1883 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Old Toronto People from Renfrewshire Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada