Daniel John O'Donoghue

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Daniel John O'Donoghue
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
In office
1874–1879
ConstituencyOttawa
Personal details
Born(1844-08-01)August 1, 1844
County Kerry, Ireland
DiedJanuary 16, 1907(1907-01-16) (aged 62)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal
SpouseMarie Cloutier
OccupationPrinter, labour leader, politician

Daniel John O'Donoghue (August 1, 1844 – January 16, 1907) was a printer, labour leader and political figure in Ontario. O'Donoghue is recognized as one of the original founders of organized labour in Canada and in 1874 he became the first labour candidate election to a Canadian legislature.[1]

Labour activism

He was born near Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland on August 1, 1844, and came to Canada with his parents in 1852.[2] Required to support his family after the death of his father, he became an apprentice to a printer in Ottawa at 13. He later spent time learning his trade as a printer while working in various places in the United States. In 1866, he returned to work in Ottawa, where he helped form Ottawa Typographical Union, later part of the International Typographical Union. In 1872, with Donald Robertson, he convinced Sir John A. Macdonald to introduce legislation legalizing trade unions. Later that year, O'Donoghue and Robertson helped found the Ottawa Trades Council; O'Donoghue became president in 1873. Later that year, he led an unsuccessful strike for a nine-hour day for printers. Also during that year, he helped found the Canadian Labour Union and became its first vice-president.

Election to the legislature

He was elected to

Liberal-Conservative to drop out on the day of the election. During his time in office, he lobbied for extending the vote to more people in the province, although he opposed extending the vote to women. He was reelected in 1875.[2]
Facing concerted opposition from both the Liberals and Conservatives, he lost in most of the city, but won a massive majority in the working-class neighbourhoods of Lowertown. By the next election things had changed, as a deep recession had deeply wounded the labour movement in Ottawa, O'Donoghue finished third.

Later career

After his defeat he moved to

Department of Labour. He became ill in 1906 while working in British Columbia as part of his functions in that post, and died at his home in Toronto on January 16, 1907.[2]

Electoral history

Ontario provincial by-election, January 18, 1874: Ottawa
Resignation of Richard William Scott
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal Daniel John O'Donoghue 882 69.72
Independent R. Nagle 285 22.53
Independent T.M. Blasdell 91 7.19
Independent G.H. Preston 7 0.55
Total valid votes 1,265 100.0  
Liberal hold Swing  
Source: History of the Electoral Districts, Legislatures and Ministries of the Province of Ontario[3]: 262 
1875 Ontario general election: Ottawa
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Daniel John O'Donoghue 852 35.35 −34.37
Liberal J. P. Featherston 800 33.20 −36.53
Conservative John O'Connor 758 31.45  
Total valid votes 2,410 54.25
Eligible voters 4,442
Liberal hold Swing −34.37
Source: Elections Ontario[4]
1879 Ontario general election: Ottawa
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Patrick Baskerville 1,064 39.72 +8.26
Independent George Samuel May 1,000 37.33  
Liberal Daniel John O'Donoghue 606 22.62 −45.93
Independent Mr. St. Jean 5 0.19  
Independent W.D. O'Keefe 4 0.15  
Total valid votes 2,679 47.99 −6.26
Eligible voters 5,582
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +8.26
Source: Elections Ontario[5]

References

  1. ^ Clavette, Ken. "The 'Rag, Tag, and Bobnail:' The rise and fall of Ottawa's early working class." Ottawa: Making A Capital. Ottawa: Ottawa University Press, 2001. p. 151
  2. ^
    The Montreal Daily Star
    . January 17, 1907. p. 11. Retrieved May 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. OCLC 1052682
    .
  4. ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1875. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  5. ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1879. Retrieved April 19, 2024.

Bibliography

  • Clavette, Ken. "The 'Rag, Tag, and Bobnail:' The rise and fall of Ottawa's early working class." Ottawa: Making A Capital. Ottawa: Ottawa University Press, 2001.
  • Forsey, Eugene, "Trade Unions in Canada 1812-1902", Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982.
  • French, Doris, "Faith, Sweat, and Politics: The Early Trade Union Years in Canada" (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd 1962)
  • Parsons, Vic, "Daniel O'Donoghue: 'Grand Old Man' of Canada's Labour Movement", The Beaver, December 1998/January 1999, Vol. 78, No.6, pp26–29
  • O’Donoghue, John G., "Daniel John O’Donoghue Father of the Canadian Labour Movement", The Canadian Catholic Historical Association Report 1942–43, pp87–96

External links

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