Andrew Davison (December 18, 1886 – April 6, 1963) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, printer and 24th Mayor of Calgary. He served as alderman from 1922 to 1926 and mayor from 1929 to 1945 - his 15 year term as mayor is the longest in the city's history. He also served as a member of the Alberta Legislature 1940 to 1948.

Early life

Andrew Davison was born on December 18, 1886, in Moneymore,

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

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to Andrew Davison and Clara Williamson. He arrived in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

in 1895 and received his education in both

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

and

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, and attended Business College in Winnipeg. He married Effie Huggins on December 3, 1912. Prior to entering politics, Davison worked as a printer, a linotype operator and publisher and was associated with the '' Calgary Albertan'', the News Telegram, and

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 C ...

from after the war to 1929. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

from 1914 to 1918, he served overseas in the London

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as a Pay Sergeant with the Canadian Army Pay Corps, he was unable to enlist for active combat due to an "eyesight handicap". He served as Pay Master of the Second Battalion, Calgary Highlanders, with the rank of captain, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Political career

Andrew Davison was first elected to Calgary City Council in the 1921 Calgary municipal election as a Labour candidate, his election occurred while he was working at the Calgary Herald as a printer. He served four terms as Alderman from 1922 to 1926. Then in 1929 he was acclaimed as mayor of Calgary on November 12, 1929. He was re-elected Mayor another seven times, serving a total of sixteen years as the City's Chief Magistrate, a record unequalled before or since. During Davison's term as mayor, the ambitious and controversial Glenmore Dam waterworks system was completed. The Glenmore Dam and other capital projects placed the City of Calgary heavily into debt, and in 1937 Davison along with Jules Fortain and former mayor Frederick Ernest Osborne proposed the "Fortain Plan" which consolidated the municipality's debt, and shifted the financial burden to future years. This financial adjustment enabled Calgary to afford upgrades to power and transportation services. Under Davison the City of Calgary began paying Aldermen for their services, with $50 per standing committee meeting attended with a yearly cap of $250. In 1945, due to ill health, Davison resigned his position as Mayor of Calgary but kept his seat in the Legislature until his term was over. Davison attempted to enter federal politics in 1935, contesting the

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district for the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the 1935 Canadian federal election as the

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

candidate. He was defeated by

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

candidate

Charles Edward Johnston Charles Edward Johnston (February 12, 1899 – December 1, 1971) was a teacher and a long serving Canadian politician. He served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada for the opposition federal Social Credit party from 1935 to 1958. He m ...

. Davison ran for the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

in the

1940 Alberta general election The 1940 Alberta general election was held on March 21, 1940, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Despite its failure to implement its key policy, providing prosperity certificates to all Albertans, the Social Credit Part ...

in the

district as the leader of the Independent Movement, which sought to unite the opposition to

. He was elected and then re-elected in 1944 Alberta general election. He continued to serve as both mayor and a member in the Legislature. He did not run again in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. Following his resignation from the Alberta Legislature, Davison retired to

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, where he died several years later on April 6, 1963, at the age of 76.

Honours

The Andrew Davison Building, a 13-floor building at 133 6 Avenue SE and the former home of the

Calgary Police Service Calgary Police Service (CPS; ) is the municipal police service of the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Alberta and third largest municipal force in Canada behind the Toronto Police Service and the Mo ...

headquarters, is named in his honour. There is also a Calgary Board of Education school named after him: Andrew Davison School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Andrew Mayors of Calgary Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) candidates for the Canadian House of Commons 1886 births 1963 deaths Independent Alberta MLAs People from County Londonderry Irish emigrants to Canada 20th-century mayors of places in Alberta 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta