Frederick George McBrien (15 June 1888 – 2 July 1938) was an

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

lawyer and political figure. He represented Toronto Southwest and then Brockton from 1923 to 1934 and Parkdale from 1937 to 1938 in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

as a

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 ...

member. He died in office at the age of 50. He was born in on 15 June 1888 in the Mono Township,

Dufferin County, Ontario Dufferin County is a county and census division located in Central Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Janet Horner. The current chief administrative officer is Sonya Pritchard. Dufferin covers an area of ...

and educated in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and at

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart (architect), John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is n ...

. He was a newspaper boy for the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

in his youth. When he was 17, he opened a hardware store with his younger brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, supplying builders in Toronto's growing outlying areas. He began studying law at Osgoode Hall 1914, while still running his hardware business, and graduated in 1922. McBrien was named

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1934. He first ran for city council in 1908, and after three tries, was elected on 1 January 1911 as the

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for Ward 6 of the former City of Toronto, in the west-end. At the time, Toronto had yearly city council elections on New Year's Day. He decided to run for mayor in 1914; at the time, he was the youngest person to run for that office at age 25. He was defeated by incumbent mayor Horatio Clarence Hocken by just over 1000 votes. In June 1938, he had a heart attack, and was hospitalized at

Toronto Western Hospital The Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) is a major research and teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the University Health Network (UHN). It has 256 beds, with 46,000 visits to its emergency department annually. It is known fo ...

. He died on 2 July 1938 at the hospital. An odd thing happened regarding his funeral. His brother William McBrien was the chair of the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

at the time, and was involved in a minor car accident on his way to make the funeral arrangements for Fred. Since he died in office, his funeral was attended by the province's premier

Mitchell Hepburn Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, becoming premier at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the ...

and Toronto mayor Ralph Day. His daughter Muriel was one of the founding co-owners of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

baseball team along with her husband

Ewing Kauffman Ewing Marion Kauffman (September 21, 1916 August 1, 1993) was an American pharmaceutical entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Major League Baseball owner. Early life and education Ewing Kauffman was born on September 21, 1916, on a farm near Gard ...

References

External links

''History of Dufferin County'', S Sawden (1952)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcbrien, Frederick George 1888 births 1938 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Toronto city councillors 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century Canadian municipal councillors