Bracondale

History

Bracondale was the name of a former Toronto suburb that was annexed by the city in 1909; 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). The constituency was first contested during Ontario's 17th general election on 1 December 1926. Arthur Russell Nesbitt, was elected its first Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). He was a member of Ontario Conservative Party. 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. He was elected on 6 October 1937 in a very close race with the constituency's incumbent MLA, Nesbitt. Nesbitt claimed that two ballot boxes were missing and one was filled with fraudulent ballots. The constituency's returning officer was arrested, and denied bail because he had a quantity of ballots stuffed in his pockets. 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. 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.

Boundaries

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.

1934 to 1967 Boundaries

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.

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

Members of Provincial Parliament

| Assembly#=17 | PartyTerms#=3 | RepTerms#=3 | Assembly#=18 | Assembly#=19 | Assembly#=20 | PartyTerms#=1 | RepTerms#=1 | Assembly#=21 | PartyTerms#=1 | RepTerms#=1 | Assembly#=22 | PartyTerms#=1 | RepTerms#=1 | Assembly#=23 | PartyTerms#=1 | RepTerms#=1 | Assembly#=24 | PartyTerms#=2 | RepTerms#=2 | Assembly#=25 | Assembly#=26 | PartyTerms#=2 | RepTerms#=2 | Assembly#=27 | #ByElections=1 | PartyTerms#=1 | RepTerms#=1 Sourced from the Ontario Legislative AssemblyFor a listing of each MPP's Queen's Park curriculum vitae see below:

• For Arthur Russell Nesbitt's Legislative Assembly information see
• For Lionel Conacher's Legislative Assembly information see
• For Rae Luckock's Legislative Assembly information see
• For Harry Hyndman's Legislative Assembly information see
• For Harry Walters' Legislative Assembly information see
• For Arthur Frost's Legislative Assembly information see
• For Joseph Gould's Legislative Assembly information see
• For George Ben's Legislative Assembly information see }}

Election results

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

References

References

1. Federal and provincial electoral district boundaries are the same in Toronto.
2. (1908-12-15). "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.
3. (2011). "All Members serving in Parliament: 17 -- December 01, 1926 - September 17, 1929". Ontario Legislative Assembly.
4. (2011). "Arthur Russell Nesbitt, MPP". Ontario Legislative Assembly.
5. The Canadian Press. (1937-09-02). "Lionel Conacher quits sports for a career in politics". The Ottawa Citizen.
6. (1937-10-07). "'Big Train' elected: Lionel Conacher forsook puck for Ontario political career". The Vancouver Sun.
7. The Canadian Press. (1937-10-07). "Hepburn takes 67 seats". The Leader-Post.
8. The Canadian Press. (1943-08-05). "Ontario precedent set as 2 women elected". The Montreal Gazette.
9. Star Staff. (1945-06-05). "How Ontario's electors voted in all 90 ridings". The Toronto Daily Star.
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.
11. Forsyth, Robert. (1963-09-11). "The Province of Ontario general election 1963 the Voters' List ACT III: Bracondale". The Toronto Star.
12. (2011). "Davenport". Elections Ontario.
13. (2011). "St. Paul's". Elections Ontario.
14. (2011). "Trinity–Spadina". Elections Ontario.
15. (1926-12-01). "Sweep by Tories Returns 15 Wets in Toronto Seats". The Toronto Daily Star (Last Extra edition).
16. (1929-10-31). "Vote Cast and Personnel of the New Ontario Legislature". The Toronto Daily Star.
17. (1934-06-21). "Detailed Election Results". The Globe.
18. (1937-10-07). "Ontario Voted By Ridings". The Toronto Daily Star.
19. Canadian Press. (1943-08-05). "Ontario Election Results". The Gazette.
20. Canadian Press. (1945-06-05). "How Ontario Electors Voted in all 90 Ridings". The Toronto Daily Star.
21. Canadian Press. (1948-06-08). "How Ontario Electors Voted in all 90 Ridings". The Toronto Daily Star.
22. Canadian Press. (1951-11-23). "How Ontario Electors Voted in all 90 Ridings". The Toronto Daily Star.
23. Canadian Press. (1955-06-10). "Complete Results of Ontario Voting by Constituencies". The Ottawa Citizen.
24. Canadian Press. (1959-06-12). "Complete Results of Ontario Voting by Constituencies". The Ottawa Citizen.
25. Canadian Press. (1963-09-26). "Who Won Which Seats In P.C.s Ontario Sweep". The Toronto Daily Star.
26. Canadian Press. (1965-09-16). "Liberals Hold Two Seats". The Windsor Star.