Francis Nicholson Darke (October 25, 1863 – July 17, 1940) was a leading citizen of

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

and served as

Mayor of Regina The mayor of Regina is head of Regina City Council, the governing body of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina, the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The 36th and current mayor of the city of Regina is Chad Bachynski, who was first ...

, Member of Parliament and as a prominent businessman. He was born near

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

on his family's farm, remaining there until his late 20s when he decided to move to

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

. He arrived in Regina in 1891 and settled there permanently after returning to PEI to marry. He partnered with fellow islander Pople Balderson to raise livestock on a farm outside of Regina. Later, the two men purchased a butcher's shop in town and were soon able to obtain contracts with residential schools and the

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to ...

. Darke invested his earnings to purchase several blocks of land in town from the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. His real estate holdings were profitable enough to allow him to sell his cattle business in order to focus on land development. He was elected to town council in 1895 and served as mayor in 1898 at the age of 35 and remains Regina's youngest ever mayor. Darke was elected to 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 1925 federal election as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

MP for Regina electoral district but resigned his seat in early 1926 in order to allow Saskatchewan Premier

Charles Avery Dunning Charles Avery Dunning (July 31, 1885 – October 1, 1958) was the third premier of Saskatchewan. Born in England, he emigrated to Canada at the age of 16. By the age of 36, he was premier. He had a successful career as a farmer, business ...

to enter the federal parliament in a by-election after he was appointed

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

in the federal cabinet. Darke donated $85,000 and raised a further $40,000 to help establish Regina College in 1910. The college eventually became the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...

. He also donated money in 1929 to build the Darke Hall for Music and Art which served as the home of the

Regina Symphony Orchestra The Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) was founded by Frank Laubach, in Regina, Saskatchewan, as the Regina Orchestral Society in 1908, giving its inaugural concert December 3 of that same year. Becoming the Regina Choral and Orchestral Society in 1 ...

for 41 years. Darke Crescent, Darke Street, Darke Park and

Darke Hall Darke Hall is a 470 seat performance hall located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The hall was named for Francis Nicholson Darke, the former mayor of Regina. Designed by architect J.H. Puntin, the hall was built in 1928 and had its inaugural con ...

in Regina are named after him.

References

Darke, Francis Nicholson
* 1863 births 1940 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Saskatchewan Mayors of Regina, Saskatchewan Canadian Methodists Members of the United Church of Canada 19th-century mayors of places in Saskatchewan 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{Saskatchewan-mayor-stub