The 1908 municipal election was held December 14, 1908 for the purpose of electing a mayor and six aldermen to sit 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 ...

, as well as three public school trustees and five separate school trustees. There were also five proposed bylaws put to a vote of the electorate concurrently with the election.

Positions to be elected

There were eight aldermen on city council, normally four elected each year. Daniel Fraser, who had been elected to a one-year term in a December 1907 by-election, and other aldermen elected to two year terms in 1906 were all leaving. Two of the other seats were already filled: George S. Armstrong and

Robert Manson Robert John Manson (1866 or 1867 – May 10, 1932) was a politician in Alberta, Canada and a municipal councillor in Edmonton, 1906–1909. Biography Manson came to Edmonton from Renfrew County, Ontario in 1891. He fast became one of the city ...

had been elected to two-year terms in

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

and were still in office. Robert Lee and

Thomas Bellamy Thomas Bellamy may refer to: * Thomas Bellamy (politician) (1853–1926), Canadian politician *Thomas Bellamy (writer) (1745–1800), English author * Thomas Ludford Bellamy (1770–1843), English singer *Tom Bellamy Thomas Rhys Bellamy is a Br ...

had also been elected to two-year terms in 1907 but were resigning to run for mayor. Accordingly, the top four finishers in the 1908 aldermanic race were elected to two year terms; the fifth and sixth-place finishers - Andrew Agar and Daniel Fraser - were elected to one-year terms. There were five trustees on the public board of trustees, but two of the positions were already occupied: A E May and Alex Taylor had been elected to two-year terms in

and were still in office.

Campaign

The campaign's major issue was how to best increase the city's water supply. Mayoral candidate Robert Lee supported enhancing the capacity of the existing plant, while his opponent,

, favoured constructing a new plant. According to the

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 ...

, Lee's earlier entry into the race and early success at recruiting prominent citizens as his public supporters was a decisive factor in his defeat of Bellamy, who entered the race later.

Voter turnout

There were 1942 ballots cast in the 1908 municipal election. The number of eligible voters is no longer available.

Results

(bold indicates elected, ''italics'' indicate incumbent)

Mayor

* Robert Lee - 1303 *

- 639

Aldermen

*''

Wilfrid Gariépy Wilfrid Gariepy (March 14, 1877 – January 13, 1960) was a Canadian politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and provincial cabinet minister, member of the House of Commons of Canada, and municipal councillor in Edmonton. Earl ...

'' - 1,424 * John Lundy - 1020 *'' Herman McInnes'' - 1,010 * James McKinley - 902 * Andrew Agar - 891 *'' Daniel Fraser'' - 812 *'' Cameron Anderson'' - 742 *A E Potter - 560 *Alex McSporan - 462 *James Francis - 353 *Frank Ball - 296 *John Galbraith - 274 *Thomas Killips - 115

Public School Trustees

*Walter Ramsey - 818 *Allan Gray - 780 *

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

- 761 *''William Ferris'' - 533 *J G M Sloan - 489 *Gregory Krikewsky - 273 *William Eastwood - 229

Separate (Catholic) School Trustees

James Collisson, ''

'', ''

Prosper-Edmond Lessard Prosper-Edmond Lessard (February 3, 1873 – April 11, 1931) was a Canadian businessman, militia officer and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1909 to 1921 sitting with the Liberal caucus in government ...

'', J McAllister, and '' Joseph Henri Picard'' were elected. Detailed results are no longer available.

Bylaws

The following bylaws were voted on concurrently with the 1908 election:

Bylaw 161

A bylaw to raise $42,500 to pay for part of a traffic deck on the C.P.R. Bridge. *For: 1,072 *Against: 47

Bylaw 164

A bylaw to raise $30,000 to supplement $49,000 to pay for street railway material. *For: 921 *Against: 110

Bylaw 165

A bylaw to raise $40,000 for improvement in and extensions to the Municipal Telephone System. *For: 1,022 *Against: 34

Bylaw 166

A bylaw to raise the sum of $60,000 for improvement in and extensions to Municipal Electric Plant. *For: 1,019 *Against: 33

Bylaw 167

A bylaw to raise $5,000 to supplement previous amounts for an Isolation Hospital. *For: 841 *Against: 89

References

City of Edmonton: Edmonton Elections

Alderman Lee Mayor for 1909
, ''Edmonton Bulletin'', December 15, 1908. {{Edmonton elections

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

1908 elections in Canada 1908 in Alberta December 1908 in North America