Alexander Lucas (September 2, 1852 – June 8, 1942) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

businessman and politician. He was the seventh mayor of the town 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, maki ...

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 ...

and spent six years as a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

(MLA) in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Early life

Lucas was born 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 C ...

in 1852, and was the third child of George Lucas and Elizabeth Cowan. On January 10, 1878, he married Jane Frances "Jennie" Tanner. Together, they had two children, Fredrick and Edward. Both of their sons became prominent lawyers in BC; Fred was appointed to the Supreme Court Bench of BC in 1935.

Political life

In 1886, Lucas moved to Calgary. Here he became a partner in a land, insurance and auctioning company, and was the publisher of the ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The Ca ...

''. Lucas was first elected to Calgary Town Council in

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new Africa ...

as an Alderman, and was subsequently

acclaimed An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

Mayor of Calgary This is a list of mayors of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. List of Mayors of Calgary See also * List of Calgary municipal elections *Calgary City Council Notes References SourcesBiographies of Calgary's mayors from the City of Calgary web p ...

in the

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies f ...

and elected to a second year in the

1893 Calgary municipal election The 1893 Calgary municipal election was scheduled for January 2, 1893 to elect a List of mayors of Calgary, Mayor and six Councillors to sit on the ninth Calgary City Council, Calgary Town Council from January 16, 1893 to January 2, 1894. Backgro ...

. As Calgary's seventh mayor, he helped found the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has a room named in his honour. Lucas spent one more term on council as Alderman for the newly created Ward 1 in

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

. Lucas was known for his anti-Chinese immigration views, and during his term as Mayor formed a branch of the Anti-Chinese League along with Aldermen

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 ...

and Issac Sanford Freeze. A

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...

outbreak in Calgary led to the August 2, 1892 riot in which a mob of around 300 men descended on two Chinese laundries in the town in an attempt to run the Chinese residents out of town. Lucas had been warned of the possibility of a riot and left town for the day. Lucas ran for a seat in the

1894 Northwest Territories general election The 1894 North-West Territories general election was held on 31 October 1894. This was the third general election in the history of the North-West Territories The history of the Northwest Territories covers the period from thousands of years a ...

in the West Calgary electoral district. He was defeated finishing second in the three way race behind

Oswald Critchley Oswald Asheton Critchley (1864 – 1935 in London, England) was a Canadian territorial level politician, rancher and also served as a soldier in the Canadian Forces during World War I. Personal life Critchley began ranching in Southern Albe ...

. Lucas went to the

Kootenay Kootenay, Kootenai, and Kutenai may refer to: Ethnic groups *The Kutenai, also known as the Ktunaxa, Kootenai, or Kootenay, an indigenous people of the United States and Canada **Kutenai language, the traditional language of the Kutenai **Ktunaxa ...

district of British Columbia in 1897. He later moved to the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

. Lucas was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria. Members are elected from provincial ...

in a by-election for

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

district in 1910, and was subsequently re-elected in the

1912 British Columbia general election The 1912 British Columbia general election was the thirteenth general election for the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on February 27, 1912, ...

, he served two terms as an MLA in

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Richard McBride Sir Richard McBride, (December 15, 1870 – August 6, 1917) was a British Columbia politician and is often considered the founder of the British Columbia Conservative Party. McBride was first elected to the provincial legislature in the 1898 el ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

government.

Later life

Lucas died in Vancouver on June 8, 1942, and is interred in Mountain View Cemetery.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Alexander 1852 births 1942 deaths Mayors of Calgary British Columbia Conservative Party MLAs Politicians in the Northwest Territories 19th-century Canadian politicians 20th-century Canadian politicians