John Shaw | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 29th Mayor of Toronto | |
| In office August 6, 1897 – January 1, 1900 | |
| Preceded by | Robert J. Fleming |
| Succeeded by | Ernest A. Macdonald |
| Member of theLegislative Assembly of Ontario for Toronto North -- Seat B | |
| In office 1908–1911 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1837 (1837) Toronto, Upper Canada |
| Died | November 7, 1917(1917-11-07) (aged 79–80) Toronto, Ontario |
John Shaw (1837 – November 7, 1917) wasMayor of Toronto from August 6, 1897, to January 1, 1899.[1]
A lawyer and politician, Shaw was analderman onToronto City Council from 1883 until 1895. He ran for mayor in the1896 Toronto municipal election but was defeated by the incumbentRobert J. Fleming. As alderman again in 1897, he was elected mayor by council, after Mayor Fleming resigned in August 1897.
During the summer of 1898,the new City Hall onQueen Street was completed and occupied. Ten years earlier construction had started on the city hall designed by Toronto architectE. J. Lennox. Mayor Shaw and his wife were part of the opening ceremonies and were lifted to the top of the clock tower in a wooden workman's lift.
Mayor Shaw believed that the northland's development was very important to Toronto. He presided over the Toronto and Hudson's Bay Railway Commission. The commission was to determine the feasibility of building a railway fromToronto toHudson Bay. Although the project had many supporters, the line was never built. He was also a member of theOrange Order in Canada.
John Shaw left politics for a time after his mayoral term. He ran for alderman in the1903 Toronto municipal election but was defeated.[2][3] He ran for a spot on theToronto Board of Control in the1904 Toronto municipal election, the first the body was directly elected, but was again defeated. However, he won aby-election to the Board of Control several months later and was re-elected in1905 and1906. In1908, he was elected to theprovincial legislature as theConservativeMLA for Toronto North Seat B then retired from politics in 1911.
