John H. Taylor
pp. 3–14
Record
Abstract
Conventional city politics — that is, non-partisan politics loosely identified with Liberal and Conservative urban elites — dominated major Canadian cities to the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. At that time they were challenged by representatives of a broader democracy in the form of Socialist organizations and Charismatic individuals with personal followings. With few exceptions the challenges were unsuccessful. The crisis of the 'thirties, however, proved more amenable to both types of challengers. The Charismatics of the depression proved once again to be ephemeral, unable to establish a permanent hold on their cities. But they often altered patterns sufficiently, if temporarily, either to enable Convention to beat back a Socialist challenge or to enable the Socialists to succeed to control.
Peter A. Baskerville
pp. 15–34
Record
Abstract
Through an examination of banking and railway activities, this paper charts the changing nature of entrepreneurship in York-Toronto between 1822 and 1855. It is suggested that the entrepreneurial behaviour of the Compact is best understood through a socio-cultural, rather than a simple economic perspective. The concept, entrepreneurship, should be regarded as time and culture bound. The common argument that members of the Family Compact failed as entrepreneurs, can, then, be refined. While the Compact's perception of success differed from that of its successors and, in some cases, from that of its contemporaries in other cities, that elite was equally active in crucial areas of business development. The activity of leading Compact members and their perceptions of development conditioned Toronto's evolution as a city in the years under review.
Melvin Baker
pp. 35–51
Record
Abstract
The St. John's commercial community took little interest in the administration of the Municipal Council from the city's incorporation in 1888 to 1913. Most prominent merchants were pressed for time because of their businesses; they preferred either to sit in the prestigious Legislative Council or, occasionally, to seek election to the House of Assembly. Under the terms of the 1888 Municipal Act, membership in these legislative bodies gave the merchants considerable control over the city's finances and management.The Municipal Council constantly experienced financial difficulties because of insufficient revenue for improvements. The aim of the civic reform movement organized in December, 1913, by William Gilbert Gosling, the President of the Board of Trade, was to devise means of obtaining additional revenue for municipal improvements. In effect, this meant increasing the property tax, a prospect the city's merchants were forced to accept to achieve an improved water supply for greater fire protection. The additional revenue was to be used also to provide better housing for the poor and to improve public health and sanitary conditions. Early in 1914 the Board of Trade was successful in having the elective council replaced by an appointed commission of businessmen. This commission was intended to administer the city for one year from July 1, 1914, re-organize the various municipal departments, and draft a new municipal charter that would give the council the revenue it required. Gosling's initiative set in motion the events that led to the charter of 1921, the basis of present-day municipal government in St. John's.
L. D. McCann
pp. 52–58
Record
Abstract
The concept of metropolitanism, long an accepted fact in Canadian life and letters, has assumed the status of a national myth. Canada is no longer a country structured simply as metropolis and hinterland. Resource wealth has fostered sustained hinterland development and created regional metropolitan centres which directly influence the nation's economic, social, and political life. The strength of regional cities today affects both the redirection of national life and the renewed expression of regionalism which currently characterizes Canada.