The 1920 municipal election was held December 13, 1920, to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and three trustees to sit on the public school board. J Cormack, Joseph Gariépy and J J Murray were acclaimed to two-year terms on the separate school board. In a plebiscite held at the same time, Edmontonians repeated their previous year's rejection of a proposal to pay aldermen. Ratepayers also voted down the various money bylaws that were up for discussion."D.M. Duggan elected mayor... in Monday's election", Edmonton Bulletin, December 15, 1920, p. 1 https://archive.org/details/EDI_1920121401/mode/2up?view=theater accessed September 5, 2025
There were ten aldermen on city council, but four of the positions were already filled: Percy Abbott, John Bowen, James East and Rice Sheppard were all elected to two-year terms in 1919 and were still in office. J. A. Kinney had also been elected to a two-year term in 1919, but had resigned. Accordingly, Samuel McCoppen, who came in in sixth place, was elected to a one-year term.
Five candidates of a new party, the business-oriented Citizens Progressive League AKA the Citizens Committee or Citizens ticket, were elected to most of the open seats. McCoppen was the sole Labour Party candidate to be elected."Civic Elections Monday Dec. 13", Edmonton Bulletin, December 14, 1920, p. 1 A third party, the Independent Labor Party, ran two candidates but did not elect anyone."D.M. Duggan elected mayor", Edmonton Bulletin, December 14, 1920, p. 1
There were seven trustees on the public school board, but four of the positions were already filled: Samuel Barnes, J. W. H. Williams, J A McPherson, and Frank Scott had all been elected to two-year terms in 1919 and were still in office. The same was true on the separate board, where Joseph Henri Picard, Paul Jenvrin, Thomas Magee, and Thomas Malone were continuing.
Voter turnout There were 14,710 ballots cast out of 26,903 eligible voters, for a voter turnout of 54.6%.
Results bold indicates elected italics indicate incumbent South Side, where data is available, indicates 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 %Citizens' Progressive LeagueDavid Duggan7,53751.78%LabourJoseph Clarke6,97447.90%IndependentAlbert Stimmel470.32%
Aldermen Block voting was used - each voter cast up to six votes.
Party Candidate VotesCitizens' Progressive LeagueJoseph Adair7,023Citizens' Progressive LeagueAndrew McLennan6,996Citizens' Progressive LeagueValentine Richards(South Side)6,385Citizens' Progressive LeagueJames Collisson6,280Citizens' Progressive LeagueWilliam Campbell McArthur5,679Dominion Labour PartySamuel McCoppen5,478Dominion Labour PartyA. Boileau5,133Citizens' Progressive LeagueW. H. Speer5,111Dominion Labour PartyAlfred Farmilo4,638Dominion Labour PartyDaniel Kennedy Knott4,625Dominion Labour PartyJ. J. Murray4,574Dominion Labour PartyG. Latham4,312IndependentJohn McKenzie3,040Independent Labor PartyGeorge L. Ritchie1,610Independent Labor PartyJoseph WhiteEdmonton Bulletin, Dec. 7, 1921, p.1957IndependentHyman KingEdmonton Bulletin, Dec. 7, 1921, p.1760
Public school trustees Block voting was used - each voter cast up to three votes. Party Candidate VotesCitizens' Progressive LeagueMrs. E. T. (Thryza) Bishop6,988Citizens' Progressive LeagueWilliam Hardy Alexander6,711Citizens' Progressive LeagueWilliam Rea6,667LabourJ. W. B. Williams5,599LabourFrank Crang5,444LabourJ. Heron4,137
Separate (Catholic) school trustees Party Candidate VotesIndependentJ. CormackacclaimedIndependentJoseph GariépyacclaimedIndependentJ. J. Murray(South Side)acclaimed
Plebiscite Should Aldermen be paid? Votes %Yes4,23432.46%No8,81167.54%
Ratepayers voted down the various money bylaws that were up for discussion."D.M. Duggan elected mayor... in Monday's election", Edmonton Bulletin, December 15, 1920, p. 1 https://archive.org/details/EDI_1920121401/mode/2up?view=theater accessed September 5, 2025
References
Election History, City of Edmonton: Elections and Census Office