Alexander Manning

Alexander Henderson Manning (11 May 1819 – 20 October 1903) was a Canadian contractor, businessman, and the 20th Mayor of Toronto, serving a single term in 1873 and a second in 1885. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to Toronto in 1834. He worked on the construction of several projects, including the Welland Canal and the Library of Parliament. He was elected as alderman for Toronto City Council, representing St. Lawrence Ward in 1856 and 1857. He was re-elected as an alderman from 1867 to 1873. He was selected by the Toronto City Council to be mayor in 1873, but was not reelected the following year when the mayor was chosen by popular vote. He won the election for mayor of Toronto in 1884, but was again unsuccessful in his reelection bid the following year. In his later life, Manning was an investor in the Grand Opera House, funded the construction of Toronto's Old City Hall, and was a director of several companies. At the time of his death in 1903, it was reported that he was the largest individual taxpayer in Toronto.

Early life and building career

Born in Dublin, Ireland, on 11 May 1819, Manning was educated in Dublin and immigrated to Toronto in 1834. Four years later, he lived in Ohio but returned to Toronto after two years. He worked as a builder and was a partner in a sawmill business. He worked on the construction of various projects, including the Welland Canal and the Toronto Normal and Model School.

In the 1850s Manning invested in real estate within Toronto. In the 1860s he demanded overtime payments for constructing roads in Grey County, an act that was used to politically attack Manning for being greedy with obtaining public funds. From 1870 to 1874, he worked with the masonry and brickwork for the Canadian Library of Parliament. He was also an investor for the Toronto Street Railway and constructed railways in Vermont, Pennsylvania, New York, and other locations across Canada. Manning won the mayoral race with the support of Conservative voters. He also advocated for the creation of the Home for Incurables. At first, Manning believed that he would be unchallenged in his reelection as mayor, but a growing civic reform movement organised and produced a candidate named William Holmes Howland.