George Albertus Cox

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Ontario MPP
In office
January 18, 1875 – September 27, 1875
Preceded byThomas McCulloch Fairbairn
Succeeded byWilliam Hepburn Scott
ConstituencyPeterborough West
Personal details
Born(1840-05-07)May 7, 1840
Colborne, Upper Canada
DiedJanuary 16, 1914(1914-01-16) (aged 73)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal

George Albertus Cox (May 7, 1840 – January 16, 1914) was a very prominent Canadian businessman and a member of the Senate of Canada.

Life and career

He was born in

Canada Life Assurance Company
. He served seven years as mayor of Peterborough and accumulated real estate in that area.

In 1878, he became president of the Midland Railway of Canada, later leasing it to the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1884, he founded the Central Canada Loan and Savings Company, moving to Toronto in 1888 and becoming president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1890.

During the 1890s, he was involved in the purchase of the

Bank of Nova Scotia. In 1900, he became president and general manager of Canada Life Assurance. In 1901, Cox and Edward R. Wood established investment dealer Dominion Securities Corporation Limited, today a part of the Royal Bank of Canada
.

By this time, he controlled many of the important Canadian companies in the insurance and finance sectors. His companies helped finance the

Brazilian Traction, Light and Power Company. Cox was one of the few Canadian millionaires of his era. A number of notable Canadians got their start in Cox companies: William Thomas White, James Henry Gundy, Edward Robert Peacock, and Frank Porter Wood, the younger brother of Edward Rogers Wood
.

He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Victorian Order of Nurses, a founding member of the Canadian Red Cross and an active member of the Methodist Church. He died in Toronto in 1914 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.

Electoral history

1875 Ontario general election: Peterborough West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Albertus Cox 970 51.19  
Conservative William Hepburn Scott 925 48.81 −1.53
Total valid votes 1,895 71.27
Eligible voters 2,659
Election voided
Source: Elections Ontario[1]
Ontario provincial by-election, October 1875: Peterborough West
Previous election voided
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Hepburn Scott 995 50.03 −0.32
Liberal George Albertus Cox 994 49.97  
Total valid votes 1,989
Conservative hold Swing −0.32
Source: History of the Electoral Districts, Legislatures and Ministries of the Province of Ontario[2]: 304 

References

  1. ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1875. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  2. OCLC 1052682
    .

Bibliography

External links
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