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. Two Southside candidates were guaranteed to win seats so to finish off Bellamy's and MacDonald's terms, the fourth-most-popular and fifth-most-popular northside candidates were elected to one year 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.Edmonton Bulletin, Dec. 11, 1917Edmonton Bulletin, Nov. 24, 1917 The Labour slate was filled out by candidates White, Field and Scott, all unsuccessful.Edmonton Bulletin, Dec. 7, 1917
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.Edmonton Bulletin, Dec. 10, 1917Edmonton Bulletin, Dec. 21, 1917
Hyman King announced that he would be running for an aldermanic seat but he withdrew his nomination before election day.Edmonton Bulletin, Dec. 4, 1917
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.Edmonton Bulletin, Dec. 4, 1917
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. But despite the potential vote splitting, Evans was elected with a majority of votes.
Electoral System 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.
Voter turnout
A total of 7895 ballots were cast out of 11,271 eligible voters, for a voter turnout of 70.0%.
Results
bold indicates elected italics indicate incumbent South Side indicates, where data is available, a representative for Edmonton's South Side, with a minimum South Side representation instituted after the city of Strathcona, south of the North Saskatchewan River, amalgamated into Edmonton on February 1, 1912.
Mayor
Party Candidate Votes %IndependentHarry Marshall Erskine Evans3,79950.10%IndependentJoseph Clarke1,79123.62%IndependentSamuel Barnes78810.39%IndependentThomas Bellamy7579.98%IndependentJames Macfie MacDonald4485.91%Total7583
Aldermen Labour = Labour Representation League Edmonton Bulletin, December 15, 1917
Party Candidate VotesIndependentMatthew Esdale4,199LabourJames Kinney4,190IndependentCharles Wilson4,000LabourSamuel McCoppen3,578 (elected for one yearIndependentHenri Martin3,327 (elected for one year)IndependentWarren Prevey(South Side)3,022IndependentOrlando Bush(South Side)2,921LabourT. Scott2,258LabourS. W. Field2,068LabourJ. E. White1,791IndependentS. Freeman990 Total32,344
Public school trustees
Party Candidate VotesIndependentHenry Douglas4,854IndependentJ. A. McPherson3,815IndependentArthur Cushing3,121IndependentE. T. Bishop2,894LabourAlfred Farmilo2,147IndependentA. L. Marks1,916IndependentJoseph Clarke1,502
Separate (Catholic) school trustees
Party Candidate VotesIndependentM. Kelly497IndependentF. A. French490IndependentJoseph Henri Picard417IndependentH. J. Roche387IndependentRichard Crossland178
Plebiscites
Votes %Are you in favour of the assessment of buildings and improvements at a percentage value not exceeding 25 percent?For1,55246.12%Against1,81353.88%Are you in favour of a business assessment equal to the full amount of rental value of the premises wherein business is carried?For3,55561.36%Against2,23938.64%
References
Election History, City of Edmonton: Elections and Census Office