James Lindala (May 11, 1860 — March 23, 1917) was a Finnish-Canadian socialist and was the first Finnish settler in Toronto. He became leader of the Finnish community in Canada and in 1907, he ran for

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the Municipal government of Toronto, municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; t ...

and came in second place.

Early life and migration

Lindala was born in the village of

Vähäkyrö Vähäkyrö () is a former municipality of Finland and an exclave of the city of Vaasa since January 1, 2013. It was located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 4,727 (31 ...

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

in 1860 and apprenticed as a tailor in

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

efforts by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, which ruled Finland. He was the first Finn to settle 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 wrote back to Finland encouraging other tailors to emigrate to the city, as a result tens of them settled in the Queen and Spadina area by the turn of the century.

Career

In 1902, Lindala established a tailoring

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

Iso Paja (the Big Shop), on Peter Street which became the nucleus for 50 Finnish tailors and the

Journeymen Tailors Union The Journeymen Tailors Union (JTU) was a trade union in the United States, with some local branches in Canada. History Before 1890 Forerunners to the organization included the Tailors Progressive Union of America (TPUA) in the mid-1800s, a ...

. Lindala also owned a community sauna and travel agency, and his wife ran a grocery store specialising in Finnish products. In 1902, he established the Finnish Society of Toronto and in 1907 financed the purchase of the first Finnish community centre at 214 Adelaide Street West. The Finnish Society was active in the

Socialist Party of Canada The Socialist Party of Canada (SPC) was a political party that existed from 1904 to 1925, led by E. T. Kingsley. It published the newspaper, '' Western Clarion''. History Establishment The Socialist Party of Canada was founded at the Sociali ...

and Lindala was nominated as the party's mayoral candidate in the 1907 Toronto municipal election. Lindala ran on a platform of abolishing

wage slavery Wage slavery is a term used to criticize exploitation of labour by business, by keeping wages low or stagnant in order to maximize profits. The situation of wage slavery can be loosely defined as a person's dependence on wages (or a salary) f ...

and advocting

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an e ...

ownership of lands and machinery. Lindala won 8,286 votes, placing second against incumbent mayor

Emerson Coatsworth Emerson Coatsworth Jr., King's Counsel, KC (March 9, 1854 – May 11, 1943) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada. Born in Toronto, Coatsworth was educated at the public schools, and studied p ...

, who won 13,698 votes. The strong result by Lindala caused a stir in the press with '' The Globe'' wondering how "an unknown Socialist tailor of foreign birth should poll over eight thousand votes. . . against a barrister of irreproachable character." He ran again in the 1909 election coming in third with 1,735 votes.

Death

Lindala died of stomach cancer in 1917 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindala, James Finnish emigrants to Canada Canadian socialists Canadian tailors 19th-century tailors Politicians from Toronto Trade unionists from Ontario 1860 births 1917 deaths