Bracondale

Bracondale was a provincial electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 to 1967. The constituency got its name from an old Toronto suburb called Bracondale, that was annexed by Toronto in 1909. Its most notable event was electing one of the first two women Members of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) to share the title "first-woman MPP" in 1943 when Rae Luckock was elected. In 1965, Bracondale's MPP, Joseph Gould, died in office sparking the final election held in the constituency. George Ben won the by-election, and became the constituency's last MPP. It was abolished for the 1967 Ontario provincial election, and redistributed into the Dovercourt and Bellwoods constituencies. As of 2023, the current electoral districts of Davenport, St. Paul's, University–Rosedale, and Spadina–Fort York encompass this historic riding.[1]

Bracondale
Ontario electoral district
Bracondale electoral district as it appeared from 1934 until its abolition in 1967
Defunct provincial electoral district
LegislatureLegislative Assembly of Ontario
District created1925
District abolished1967
First contested1926
Last contested1965

History

Bracondale was the name of a former Toronto suburb that was annexed by the city in 1909;[2] and north of Davenport Road, constituted the northern part of what eventually became the provincial electoral district. It was part of the northwestern expansion of the city that included Wychwood Park, and the City of West Toronto (now known as The Junction).[2] The constituency was first contested during Ontario's 17th general election on 1 December 1926.[3] Arthur Russell Nesbitt, was elected its first Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).[4] He was a member of Ontario Conservative Party.[4] The constituency's first Ontario Liberal MLA was Lionel Conacher, a famous Canadian athlete that retired from the National Hockey League to start a career in politics.[5] He was elected on 6 October 1937 in a very close race with the constituency's incumbent MLA, Nesbitt.[6] Nesbitt claimed that two ballot boxes were missing and one was filled with fraudulent ballots.[7] The constituency's returning officer was arrested, and denied bail because he had a quantity of ballots stuffed in his pockets.[7] Soon after Conacher was elected as an MLA, the legislature changed the designation for its members to Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in 1938.

Bracondale's most notable event came in 1943. Its residents elected Rae Luckock, one of two Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) female MPPs to share the title "first-female MPP"; the other was Agnes Macphail in York East.[8] Luckock lost the 4 June 1945 provincial election to Conservative Harry Hyland Hyndman, which saw the Conservatives sweep into a majority government, by gaining most of the extra seats from the CCF.[9]

Boundaries
The original boundaries for Bracondale, used for the 1926 and 1929 elections

1926 to 1934 boundaries

Bracondale was a long and narrow constituency, ranging from the Canadian National Exhibition Grounds in the south to the city limits at St. Clair Avenue in the north, in Toronto's west-end. It included parts of the present-day neighbourhoods of Bracondale Hill, Davenport, Dovercourt Park, Dufferin Grove, Little Portugal, and Liberty Village. Its southern boundary was Lake Ontario. Its eastern boundary started on the west side of Strachan Avenue. It went north on Strachan to Queen Street West and jogged westward along Queen's south side to Crawford Avenue. It then went north on Crawford's west side until Dundas Street West, where it went eastward along the northern section of Dundas to Beatrice Street. It went north on Beatrice's west side straight through to Bloor Street West. It then jogged east on Bloor's north side to Christie Avenue. It then went along Christie to the northern boundary, the city limits just north of St. Clair Avenue West. It jogged westward along the city limits to Oakwood Avenue. It then went south along Oakwood's eastside to Davenport Road. It then jogged along Davenport's south-side to Dovercourt Road. It then went south on Dovercourt's east-side to Atlantic Avenue. On Atlantic's east-side to Lake Ontario.[10][11]

1934 to 1967 Boundaries
Bracondale in context with the other Toronto districts in 1926 and 1929

Bracondale was a long and narrow constituency, ranging from the Canadian National Exhibition Grounds in the south to the city limits immediately north of St. Clair Avenue, in Toronto's west-end. It included parts of the present-day neighbourhoods that belong to Bracondale Hill, Davenport, Dovercourt Park, Dufferin Grove, Little Portugal, and Liberty Village. Its southern boundary was Lake Ontario. Its eastern boundary started on the west-side of Strachan Avenue. It went north on Strachan to Queen Street West and jogged westward along Queen's south side to Crawford Avenue. It then went north on Crawford's westside until Bloor Street West. It then jogged east on Bloor's north side to Christie Avenue. It then went along Christie to the northern boundary, the city limits just north of St. Clair Avenue West. It jogged westward along the city limits to Oakwood Avenue. It then went south along Oakwood's eastside to Davenport Road. It then jogged along Davenport's south-side to Dovercourt Road. It then went south on Dovercourt's east-side to Atlantic Avenue. On Atlantic's east-side to Lake Ontario.[10][11]

In 2012, the historic boundaries are approximately part of the south-east portion of the present-day Davenport constituency,[12] a portion of the southern section of St. Paul's constituency,[13] and most of the western portion of the Trinity–Spadina constituency.[14]

Members of Provincial Parliament
Bracondale
Assembly Years Member Party
Prior to 1926 part of Toronto Southwest and Toronto Northwest ridings
17th  1926–1929     Arthur Russell Nesbitt Conservative
18th  1929–1934
19th  1934–1937
20th  1937–1943     Lionel Conacher Liberal
21st  1943–1945     Rae Luckock Co-operative Commonwealth
22nd  1945–1948     Harry Hyland Hyndman Progressive Conservative
23rd  1948–1951     Harry Lindley Walters Co-operative Commonwealth
24th  1951–1955     Arthur George Frost Progressive Conservative
25th  1955–1959
26th  1959–1963     Joseph Gould Liberal
27th  1963–1965
 1965–1967     George Ben Liberal
Sourced from the Ontario Legislative Assembly[15]
Merged into Bellwoods and Dovercourt ridings after 1967

Election results

1920s
1926 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[16] Vote %
    Conservative A.R Nesbitt 10,483 69.4
    Prohibitionist A.W. Pike 3,006 19.9
    Liberal F.H Wager 1,610 10.7
Total 15,099
1929 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[17] Vote %
    Conservative A.R. Nesbitt 7,110 70.8
    Liberal J.J. Noad 2,727 27.2
CommunistThomas C. Sims2002.0
Total

1930s
Toronto riding boundaries after 1934 redistribution
1934 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[18] Vote %
    Conservative A.R. Nesbitt 6,296 42.2
    Liberal E.C. Bogart 5,803 38.9
    Cooperative-Commonwealth Rose Henderson 2,412 16.2
CommunistThomas C. Sims3622.4
    Socialist-Labour William White 32 0.2
Total
1937 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[19] Vote %
    Liberal Lionel Conacher 7,575 45.6
    Conservative A.R. Nesbitt 7,528 45.3
    Co-operative Commonwealth Murray Cotterill 1,505 9.1
Total

1940s
1943 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[20] Vote %
    Co-operative Commonwealth Rae Luckock 4,494 38.3
    Progressive Conservative H. Hyndman 4,266 36.4
    Liberal E.C. Bogart 2,685 22.9
    Independent-Soldier John Dymond 283 2.4
Total
1945 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[21] Vote %
    Progressive Conservative H. Hyndman 6,191 31.1
    Co-operative Commonwealth Rae Luckock 4,863 24.4
    Liberal Lionel Conacher 4,312 21.7
Labor–ProgressiveLeslie Morris4,22121.2
    Independent-Conservative C.D. Graham 314 1.6
Total 19,901
1948 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[22] Vote %
    Co-operative Commonwealth H. Walters 7,980 44.8
    Progressive Conservative Fred Conboy 6,828 38.3
    Liberal W. Alex Gunn 2,998 16.8
Total

1950s
1951 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[23] Vote %
    Progressive Conservative Arthur Frost 6,014 42.0
    Co-operative Commonwealth Harry Walters 4,398 30.7
    Liberal Frank Mills 3,900 27.2
Total 14,312
1955 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[24] Vote %
    Progressive Conservative Arthur Frost 4,718 37.7
    Co-operative Commonwealth Tom Paton 3,392 30.3
    Liberal George Ben 2,985 26.7
Labor–ProgressiveHarry Hunter5845.2
Total 11,679
1959 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[25] Vote %
    Liberal Joseph M. Gould 4,059 36.5
    Progressive Conservative Harold Menzies 3,675 33.1
    Co-operative Commonwealth Jack Elchuk 2,924 26.3
    Independent-Conservative Robert Martin 453 4.1
Total 11,111

1960s
1963 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes[26] Vote %
    Liberal Joseph M. Gould 4,245 38.2
    Progressive Conservative Stanley Pronck 4,197 37.8
    New Democrat Stan Matias 2,669 24.0
Total 11,111
By-election, 15 September 1965
Party Candidate Votes[27] Vote %
    Liberal George Ben 4,940 46.35
    New Democrat John Farnia 3,486 32.71
    Progressive Conservative Lawerance Odette 2,233 20.95
Total 10,659

References
  1. Federal and provincial electoral district boundaries are the same in Toronto.
  2. "Bracondale and Wychwood given special terms by the City Council--West Toronto Annexation passed--Legislature asked to help re street railway lines". Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1908-12-15. p. 7.
  3. "All Members serving in Parliament: 17 -- December 01, 1926 - September 17, 1929". Past and Present MPPs. Toronto: Ontario Legislative Assembly. 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  4. "Arthur Russell Nesbitt, MPP". Past and Present MPPs. Toronto: Ontario Legislative Assembly. 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  5. The Canadian Press (1937-09-02). "Lionel Conacher quits sports for a career in politics". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. p. 24. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  6. "'Big Train' elected: Lionel Conacher forsook puck for Ontario political career". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver. 1937-10-07. p. 7. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  7. The Canadian Press (1937-10-07). "Hepburn takes 67 seats". The Leader-Post. Regina, Saskatchewan. p. 1. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  8. The Canadian Press (1943-08-05). "Ontario precedent set as 2 women elected". The Montreal Gazette. Montreal. p. 12. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  9. Star Staff (1945-06-05). "How Ontario's electors voted in all 90 ridings". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. 5. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  10. Star Staff (1945-05-29). "Candidates and their balliwicks for next Monday's provincial election: 69 run, 17 can win". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. 3.
  11. Forsyth, Robert (1963-09-11). "The Province of Ontario general election 1963 the Voters' List ACT III: Bracondale". The Toronto Star. Toronto. Elections Ontario. p. 31.
  12. "Davenport" (PDF). 2011 Electoral District Maps. Toronto: Elections Ontario. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-13. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  13. "St. Paul's" (PDF). 2011 Electoral District Maps. Toronto: Elections Ontario. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-13. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  14. "Trinity–Spadina" (PDF). 2011 Electoral District Maps. Toronto: Elections Ontario. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-13. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  15. For a listing of each MPP's Queen's Park curriculum vitae see below:
    • For Arthur Russell Nesbitt's Legislative Assembly information see "Arthur Russell Nesbitt, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2016.
    • For Lionel Conacher's Legislative Assembly information see "Lionel Conacher, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2016.
    • For Rae Luckock's Legislative Assembly information see "Rae Luckock, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2016.
    • For Harry Hyndman's Legislative Assembly information see "Harry Hyland Hyndman, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2016.
    • For Harry Walters' Legislative Assembly information see "Harry Lindley Walters, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2016.
    • For Arthur Frost's Legislative Assembly information see "Arthur George Frost, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2016.
    • For Joseph Gould's Legislative Assembly information see "Joseph M. Gould, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2016.
    • For George Ben's Legislative Assembly information see "George Ben, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2016.
  16. "Sweep by Tories Returns 15 Wets in Toronto Seats". The Toronto Daily Star (Last Extra edition). Toronto. 1926-12-01. p. 1. Results with 98 out of 99 polls reporting.
  17. "Vote Cast and Personnel of the New Ontario Legislature". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1929-10-31. p. 43.
  18. "Detailed Election Results". The Globe. Toronto. 1934-06-21. p. 3.
  19. "Ontario Voted By Ridings". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1937-10-07. p. 5.
  20. Canadian Press (1943-08-05). "Ontario Election Results". The Gazette. Montreal. p. 12.
  21. Canadian Press (1945-06-05). "How Ontario Electors Voted in all 90 Ridings". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. 5. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  22. Canadian Press (1948-06-08). "How Ontario Electors Voted in all 90 Ridings". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. 24.
  23. Canadian Press (1951-11-23). "How Ontario Electors Voted in all 90 Ridings". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. 10. Results with 101 out of 109 polls reporting.
  24. Canadian Press (1955-06-10). "Complete Results of Ontario Voting by Constituencies". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. p. 4. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  25. Canadian Press (1959-06-12). "Complete Results of Ontario Voting by Constituencies". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. p. 26. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  26. Canadian Press (1963-09-26). "Who Won Which Seats In P.C.s Ontario Sweep". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. 20.
  27. Canadian Press (1965-09-16). "Liberals Hold Two Seats". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
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