Thomas Foster (politician, 1852)

Thomas Foster

Thomas Foster (born July 24, 1852 in Lambton Mills , Ontario , † December 10, 1945 ) was a Canadian politician and 41st Mayor of Toronto .

Foster began his professional life as a butcher shop assistant in Toronto. He later went into business for himself with his own butcher's shop, which made him prosperous. His political career began in 1891 with the election to the city ​​council . He was re-elected in 1892 and 1894. In 1895 he lost re-election and did not return to the city council until 1900, for which he worked until 1909. Foster had another period as a city councilor from 1912 to 1917. From 1917 to 1921 he was a member of the Canadian House of Commons for the Unionist Party of Canada . When he no longer had any support in the party, he ran unsuccessfully in 1921. Thomas Foster returned to city politics and was elected 41st mayor in 1925. He held the office until January 1928. By then 25 years of service on the city council, he was informally referred to as "Honest Tom" (Honorable Tom). During his tenure, he saved a fortune of two million dollars due to his rigid economy in the city.

Foster visited India at the age of 70 and was so enthusiastic about the Taj Mahal that in 1935/36 he had a temple-like memorial built on a hill between Leaskdale and Uxbridge. The Thomas Foster Memorial, named after him today, houses two graves of his family members and his own. The structure, based on Byzantine architecture, was built by the two architects JH Craig and HH Madill.

Foster was very socially committed and donated a total of over $ 500,000 for cancer research and organized an annual picnic for children in the Exhibition Park at his expense.

Web links

• Information on the Thomas Foster Memorial
• Thomas Foster - biographical information on the website of the Canadian Parliament (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ toronto.ca: Toronto hosts 59th annual Thomas Foster Picnic  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )