Frederick Cope (August 27, 1849 – September 19, 1897) was the third

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada, serving from 1892 to 1893. Cope was born in Simcoe,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

in 1849. He was the second son of Frederick Manuel Cope & Eliza Catherine Myers. He was president of the British Columbia Building Association and operated a dry goods, millinery, tailoring and grocery business. Cope defeated John Thomas Carroll in the 1892 mayoral election, one of the most hotly contested and closest in the city's history, winning with an 11-vote majority. He is the youngest elected mayor in the history of Vancouver, having been aged 42 at the time of his election. During the election, he garnered support of the city's business class, and the ''Vancouver World'' newspaper. His council however would consist of "reformers" of the working class, in opposition to Cope's representation of the business class. During his mayoralty, the city experienced an economic downturn; Cope responded by attempting to limit civic expenses, including the laying off of city employees, and initiating cutbacks. He also advocated for the Canada-Australia Steam Line, with the inaugural ship arriving in June 1893. Cope was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. He drowned during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 in Shallow Lake,

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

, when his horse fell while crossing the body of water. He tried unsuccessfully to rescue the horse and was pulled away by the undercurrents. His body was later transported back to Vancouver, and after sorting out a mixup of the remains, was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, Frederick 1849 births 1897 deaths Mayors of Vancouver English emigrants to Canada Deaths by drowning in Canada Accidental deaths in Yukon Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Vancouver) 19th-century mayors of places in British Columbia