The 1917 municipal election was held December 10, 1917, to elect a mayor and seven aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards. There were also two plebiscite questions asked.
There were ten aldermen on city council, but three of the positions were already filled: George Pheasey, William Martin, and Charles Grant were all elected to two-year terms in 1916 and were still in office. Thomas Bellamy and James Macfie MacDonald were also elected to two-year terms in 1916, but both resigned to run for mayor; accordingly, the sixth most polular and seventh most popular candidates were elected to one year terms to finish off their terms—Samuel McCoppen and Henri Martin were elected to one-year terms. Kinney and McCoppen belonged to the Labour slate put forward by the Labour Representation League and were elected. [1] [2] The Labour slate was filled out by White, Field and Scott, all unsuccessful. [3]
There were seven trustees on the public school board, but three of the positions were already filled: Joseph Duggan, C. Frost, and William Rea had all been elected to two-year terms in 1915. The same was true of the separate board, where Joseph Gariépy, M. J. O'Farrell, and G. W. Curtis were all continuing.
The five mayoral candidates were the most in Edmonton's history up to that point.
The Southside was guaranteed to elect two members and as only two southsiders - Orlando Bush and W.W. Prevey - were running, they were secured of victory. Their names were kept on the ballot anyway. [4] [5]
Hyman King announced that he would be running for an aldermanic seat but he withdrew his nomination before election day. [6]
There was no Business slate but at least two candidates had a relationship. Esdale published a list of women and men who endorsed his candidacy. The list included fellow candidate W.W. Prevey. As each voter could cast multiple votes, there was no direct competition between Esdale and Prevey. [7]
Mayor was elected through First-past-the-post voting.
Councillors were elected through Plurality block voting, with each voter allowed to cast as many as seven votes.
There were 7895 ballots cast out of 11,271 eligible voters, for a voter turnout of 70.0%.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Harry Marshall Erskine Evans | 3,799 | 50.10% | |
| Independent | Joseph Clarke | 1,791 | 23.62% | |
| Independent | Samuel Barnes | 788 | 10.39% | |
| Independent | Thomas Bellamy | 757 | 9.98% | |
| Independent | James Macfie MacDonald | 448 | 5.91% | |
| Total | 7583 | |||
Labour = Labour Representation League [8]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Matthew Esdale | 4,199 | |
| Labour | James Kinney | 4,190 | |
| Independent | Charles Wilson | 4,000 | |
| Labour | Samuel McCoppen | 3,578 | |
| Independent | Henri Martin | 3,327 | |
| Independent | Warren Prevey (South Side) | 3,022 | |
| Independent | Orlando Bush (South Side) | 2,921 | |
| Labour | T. Scott | 2,258 | |
| Labour | S. W. Field | 2,068 | |
| Labour | J. E. White | 1,791 | |
| Independent | S. Freeman | 990 | |
| Total | 32,344 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Henry Douglas | 4,854 | |
| Independent | J. A. McPherson | 3,815 | |
| Independent | Arthur Cushing | 3,121 | |
| Independent | E. T. Bishop | 2,894 | |
| Labour | Alfred Farmilo | 2,147 | |
| Independent | A. L. Marks | 1,916 | |
| Independent | Joseph Clarke | 1,502 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | M. Kelly | 497 | |
| Independent | F. A. French | 490 | |
| Independent | Joseph Henri Picard | 417 | |
| Independent | H. J. Roche | 387 | |
| Independent | Richard Crossland | 178 | |
| Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Are you in favour of the assessment of buildings and improvements at a percentage value not exceeding 25 percent? | ||
| For | 1,552 | 46.12% |
| Against | 1,813 | 53.88% |
| Are you in favour of a business assessment equal to the full amount of rental value of the premises wherein business is carried? | ||
| For | 3,555 | 61.36% |
| Against | 2,239 | 38.64% |