O'Neill was born to a family of Irish immigrants in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto, an area that was then one of the poorest in Canada and home to thousands of working class Irish immigrants. His father delivered milk to the local neighbourhood, and this was also O'Neill's first career. He then became owner of a small hotel at the corner of Queen and Parliament St. From this he moved into the property business, where he made his fortune.
He was elected to Toronto City Council and served there four years before being elected to the Board of Control. He championed causes to help the city's poor and his own neighbourhood of Cabbagetown. These included new parks and playgrounds, city owned farms to provide work for the unemployed, and an old aged home. O'Neill was one of only a few Catholics in a Toronto politics that was then dominated by members of the Orange Order, but he gained enough interdenominational support to top the Board of Control vote on several occasions. In the 1919 election O'Neill chose to run for mayor against incumbent, fellow Cabbagetowner, Tommy Church. Church prevailed by a large margin and O'Neill left municipal politics.
He chose instead to run provincially for the Ontario Liberal Party in the riding of Toronto Southeast - Seat A. He won the traditionally Conservative seat in the 1919 Ontario election, which was a general rout for the Conservatives. O'Neill served less than a full term. He died suddenly at age 63 in January 1922.[1] O'Neill House, a homeless shelter on George St, is named is his honour.
Referencesedit
^"Death Claims John O'Neill Early Today". Toronto Daily Star. January 6, 1922. p. 1.
External linksedit
Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history
This article about a Ontario Liberal Party MPP is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
john, neill, canadian, politician, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, john, neill, canadian, politician. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John O Neill Canadian politician news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message John O Neill c 1858 January 6 1922 was a municipal and provincial politician from Toronto Ontario Canada John O NeillOntario MPPIn office 1919 1922Preceded byEdward William James OwensSucceeded byJohn Allister CurrieConstituencyToronto Southeast Seat APersonal detailsBornc 1858Toronto Canada WestDiedJanuary 6 1922 1922 01 06 aged 63 Toronto OntarioPolitical partyLiberalO Neill was born to a family of Irish immigrants in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto an area that was then one of the poorest in Canada and home to thousands of working class Irish immigrants His father delivered milk to the local neighbourhood and this was also O Neill s first career He then became owner of a small hotel at the corner of Queen and Parliament St From this he moved into the property business where he made his fortune He was elected to Toronto City Council and served there four years before being elected to the Board of Control He championed causes to help the city s poor and his own neighbourhood of Cabbagetown These included new parks and playgrounds city owned farms to provide work for the unemployed and an old aged home O Neill was one of only a few Catholics in a Toronto politics that was then dominated by members of the Orange Order but he gained enough interdenominational support to top the Board of Control vote on several occasions In the 1919 election O Neill chose to run for mayor against incumbent fellow Cabbagetowner Tommy Church Church prevailed by a large margin and O Neill left municipal politics He chose instead to run provincially for the Ontario Liberal Party in the riding of Toronto Southeast Seat A He won the traditionally Conservative seat in the 1919 Ontario election which was a general rout for the Conservatives O Neill served less than a full term He died suddenly at age 63 in January 1922 1 O Neill House a homeless shelter on George St is named is his honour References edit Death Claims John O Neill Early Today Toronto Daily Star January 6 1922 p 1 External links editOntario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history nbsp This article about a Ontario Liberal Party MPP is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John O 27Neill Canadian politician amp oldid 1167068529, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
