#Immigration Agent Edmonton

[choiceimmigration]

[allthecanadianpolitics]

An Edmonton woman is set to be removed from Canada next month because her student visa application contained a fraudulent admissions letter — even though Canadian authorities believe she didn't know it was fake.

Karamjeet Kaur and her lawyer hope an application for permanent residency based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds will be processed before her scheduled removal date of May 29th.

"She's broken right now," her lawyer Manraj Sidhu said Thursday.

"She is going to be sent back to the same society where will she will be just forced to confine herself to the vicinity of her house. That's what she did for 18 or 20 years of her life because she was ridiculed, harassed, mocked whenever she stepped out of the house because of her disability." 

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[beardedmrbean]

Canada has long been a draw for people from India's Punjab province seeking new opportunities elsewhere. But has the Canadian dream soured?

It's hard to miss the ardour of Punjab's migrant ambitions when driving through its fertile rural plains.

Billboards promising easy immigration to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK jut out through ample mustard fields.

Off the highways, consultancies offer English language coaching to eager youth.

Single-storey brick homes double up as canvasses for hand-painted mural advertisements promising quick visas. And in the town of Bathinda, hundreds of agents jostle for space on a single narrow street, pledging to speed up the youth's runaway dreams.

For over a century, this province in India's northwest has seen waves of overseas migration; from the Sikh soldiers inducted into the British Indian Army travelling to Canada, through to rural Punjabis settling in England post-independence.

But some, especially from Canada, are now choosing to come back home.

One of those is 28-year-old Balkar, who returned in early 2023 after just one year in Toronto. Citizenship was his ultimate goal when he left his little hamlet of Pitho in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. His family mortgaged their land to fund his education.

But his Canadian dream quickly lost its allure a few months into his life there.

"Everything was so expensive. I had to work 50 hours every week after college, just to survive," he told the BBC. "High inflation is making many students leave their studies."

Balkar now runs an embroidery business from a small room on one side of the expansive central courtyard in his typical Punjabi home. He also helps on his family's farm to supplement his income.

Opportunities for employment are few and far between in these rural areas, but technology has allowed entrepreneurs like him to conquer the tyranny of distance. Balkar gets the bulk of his business through Instagram.

"I have a good life here. Why should I face hardships there when I can live at home and make good money?" he asks.

The BBC spoke to at least half a dozen reverse migrants in Punjab who shared similar sentiments.

It was also a common refrain in the scores of videos on YouTube shared by Indians who had chosen to abandon their life in Canada and return home. There was a stark difference one young returnee told the BBC between the "rosy picture" immigration agents painted and the rough reality of immigrant life in Toronto and Vancouver.

The "Canada craze" has let up a bit - and especially so among well-off migrants who have a fallback option at home, says Raj Karan Brar, an immigration agent in Bathinda who helps hundreds of Punjabis get permanent residencies and student visas every year.

The desire for a Canadian citizenship remains as strong as ever though among middle- and lower middle-class clients in rural communities.

But viral YouTube videos of students talking about the difficulty in finding jobs and protests over a lack of housing and work opportunities has created an air of nervousness among these students, say immigration agents.

There was a 40% decline in applications from India for Canadian study permits in the second half of 2023, according to one estimate. This was, in part, also due to the ongoing diplomatic tensions between India and Canada over allegations Indian agents were involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

There are also hints of deeper cultural factors at play, for a waning Canadian dream among an older generation of Indian migrants.

Karan Aulakh, who spent nearly 15 years in Edmonton and achieved career and financial success, left his managerial job for a comfortable rural life in Khane ki Daab, the village where he was born in 1985. He told the BBC he was upset by LGBT-inclusive education policies in Canada and its 2018 decision to legalise recreational cannabis. Incompatibility with the Western way of life, a struggling healthcare system, and better economic prospects in India were, he said, key reasons why many older Canadian Indians are preparing to leave the country.

"I started an online consultancy - Back to the Motherland - a month and a half ago, to help those who want to reverse migrate. I get at least two to three calls every day, mostly from people in Canada who want to know what job opportunities there are in Punjab and how they can come back," said Mr Aulakh.

For a country that places such a high value on immigration, these trends are "concerning" and are "being received with a bit of a sting politically", says Daniel Bernhard of the Institute of Canadian Citizenship, an immigration advocacy group.

A liberalised immigration regime has been Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's signature policy to counter slowing economic growth and a rapidly aging population.

According to Canada's statistics agency, immigration accounted for 90% of Canada's labour force growth and 75% of population growth in 2021.

International students contribute to over C$20bn ($14.7bn; £11.7bn) to Canada's economy each year, a bulk of them Indians who now make up one in five recent immigrants to the country.

India was also Canada's leading source for immigration in 2022.

The numbers of those leaving are still small in absolute terms with immigration levels at all-time highs in Canada - the country welcomed nearly half a million new migrants each year over the past few years.

But the rate of reverse migration hit a two decade high in 2019, signalling that migrants were "losing confidence" in the country said Mr Bernhard.

Country specific statistics for such emigrants, or reverse migrants, are not available.

But official data obtained by Reuters shows between 80,000 and 90,000 immigrants left Canada in 2021 and 2022 and either went back to their countries, or onward elsewhere.

Some 42,000 people departed in the first half of 2023.

Fewer permanent residents are also going on to become Canadian citizens, according to census data cited by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. In 2001, 75% of those eligible became citizens. Two decades later, it was 45%.

Canada needs to "restore the value of its citizenship," said Mr Bernhard.

It comes as Canada debates its aggressive immigration targets given country's struggle to absorb more people.

A recent report from National Bank of Canada economists cautioned that the population growth was putting pressure on its already tight housing supply and strained healthcare system.

Canada has seen a population surge - an increase of 1.2 million people in 2023 - driven mostly by newcomers.

The report argued that growth needed to be slowed to an annual increase of up to 500,000 people in order to preserve or increase the standard of living.

There appears to have been a tacit acceptance of this evaluation by policymakers.

Mr Trudeau's Liberal government recently introduced a cap on international student permits that would result in a temporary decrease of 35% in approved study visas.

It's a significant policy shift that some believe may end up further reducing Canada's appeal amid a wave of reverse migrations.

[interglobalimmigrationagency]

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[immigration1994]

Alberta Immigration In Canada

Alberta, Canada, is a popular location for immigrants. Energy province, Sunshine Province, and Princess Province are all nicknames for them. This province is home to about 4 million people, with a substantial portion of the population residing in Alberta's two largest cities, Edmonton and Calgary. Edmonton is the provincial capital of Alberta. Both Calgary and Edmonton have populations of roughly one million people. Alberta Immigration is one of Canada's most popular immigration destinations.

The Alberta economy is currently expanding. With its new multi-year strategy, almost all provinces in Canada are hoping to recruit more bright persons. The majority of them will be newcomers through Express Entry (EE) schemes like as

Federal Skilled Trades Classification Canadian Experience Class under the Federal Skilled Worker Program

Alberta PNP-Two Significant Changes:

The first modification concerns the income criterion. Previously, any candidate wishing to immigrate to Canada needed to have a particular minimum income to be qualified for Alberta immigration. As a result, the countless applications that did not match the stated condition were denied. Alberta has eliminated the above-mentioned minimal criterion. If the applicant's scores are above the minimum requirements, they will be considered. It is encouraging news for Canadian immigrants. This province is well-known for having high-demand occupations. Candidates can be picked for Canadian immigration with more ease.

The second modification concerns the minimum language requirement. The minimal language requirement for Alberta immigration applications is the second modification. According to a few immigration news sites, it was disclosed that the Canadian Level Benchmark (CLB) will be raised; however, this is only partially accurate.

This year, in June 2018, when Alberta opened its Alberta Opportunities Stream (AOS), an announcement was made regarding raising the minimum language requirement from CLB4 to CLB5. Following additional consideration of the market circumstances, the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program officials have chosen to postpone the aforesaid decision.

Language requirements would increase exclusively for O, A, and B category occupations beginning June 1, 2020. For employment belonging to Category C and D of the NOC (National Occupations Classification), there would be no change. The adjustment would be minor; the eligibility language requirement would rise from CLB4 to CLB5.

Even though Alberta immigration provides the simplest option, it is nevertheless recommended that you seek the advice of experienced visa specialists, such as us. We are one of the leading visa specialists in India. Our Canada Visa Agents will not only help you get to your preferred location quickly, but they will also guarantee that you receive the most value for money.

[immigration-consultant-edmo-blog]

If you want to stable citizenship in Canada, InterGlobal Immigration will help you understand which immigration program will work best for you. Recognize the requirements to immigrate to, visit, study, or work in Canada

[sapphoshands]

3-5! :)

3. your favourite “grounding” activity (anything that involves using the hands/doesn’t involve “spacing out” or escapism - something like gardening, knitting, dancing, cooking)

man, i don’t have a lot of these!  really, it’s weightlifting, for me, and of course that’s something i don’t have access to now. (and yes, i miss it, i am one of those people who is dying to go back to the gym.)  also putting furniture together or building things, which again is hard to access in a small flat.  one does run out of space eventually (though i do need more bookshelves).  however, i am working short weeks for most of the rest of the summer in order to start painting my walls, and i think that might fit this bill.  i’m looking forward to it.  this... might change.

4. an account on social media whose posts make you smile

there are a lot of really good dog accounts out there and i think my instagram might now be more dogs than humans.  i recommend this.  so dogs, generally.  specifically, and not a dog, though, Gail Simone (gailsimone on twitter) - if you don’t already follow her, you are missing out on a delightfully unhinged mind and a truly sweet heart.  in any given day, will she be shitposting about godzilla’s taint or raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for BLM?  probably both!

5. 5 tv shows that cheer you up

i have been having a lot of trouble watching things during lockdown, so there are fewer shows immediately accessible to my brain than there might be otherwise.  

the two things i have watched all the way through are avatar: the last airbender, which i hadn’t watched since it was airing, and the new ducktales, which is BRILLIANT (david tennant voices scrooge mcduck and catherine tate voices magica de spell, for one, plus the nephews are voiced by actors from comedy shows that a lot of people care about and i don’t).  big rec for the nostalgia folks on that one.  

i am also re-watching agent carter, because nothing makes me happy like peggy punching people makes me happy.  (it makes me very very happy.)  

oh, borgen, which is slightly melancholic but still cheers me up because i just love watching birgitte nyborg come into her magnificance, and also because there’s going to be more of it!

oh! the great canadian baking show, which is the only GGBO spin-off that has had the feel of the original for me and which also makes me surprisingly emotional when it gets earnestly canadian?  like, seeing nanaimo bars in the opening intro got me right there!  and there was an incredible ukrainian immigrant from edmonton in one of the seasons!  i think it’s on non-canadian netflix now?  would recommend.

thanks for the ask!  [soft, stay-at-home asks here]

[viksmith121-blog]

Best Immigration Lawyer Edmonton

Best Immigration Lawyer Edmonton  -  At Axis Immigration,We Are on a Mission to Streamline Immigration consulting here in Edmonton. ur highly experienced immigration agents understand the unique needs of every single customer and ensure that their requirements are taken care of.

[choiceimmigration]

[immigration-consultant-edmonton]

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[livinimmigration]

Immigration Services Edmonton

Traveling overseas is a significant financial commitment, therefore it necessitates cautious consideration. Before contacting an immigration expert, there are several key aspects to consider. First and foremost, you must choose an acceptable nation for yourself. This is to make sure you understand why you're traveling overseas. Your reason for traveling overseas might be for study, tourism, permanent residency, or business. For these huge life transitions, everyone must stand out. Choosing the right immigration agent for you is a major concern that everyone has. An immigration agent is a person who is allowed to assist people with the immigration process. They will be able to advise you on the best way to immigrate to another nation. As a result, you must inform your agent all about your requirements while consulting. Selecting a competent consultant can help the entire visa application procedure go more easily.

Your profile will be examined by our immigration consultant Edmonton. After that, we'll advise you on the best visa for you. Your time, effort, and money can be saved from it. Because consultants are extremely experienced, applying for a visa with the aid of a consultant might boost your chances of acquiring a visa. The assistance of an immigration consultant also speeds up the procedure.

You may effectively time your immigration procedure with the assistance of our Edmonton immigration consultant. Self-made apps may take a little longer to complete, wasting valuable time. Thus, the assistance of a consultant is quite important in avoiding any form of delay and moving with a speedy procedure.

Our immigration consultants in Edmonton are also known as immigration lawyers. They have the authority to make the legal procedure as simple as possible. The legalities of immigration might be tough to comprehend. As a result, an immigration lawyer can walk you through the entire procedure. They can assist you in meeting all of the visa's criteria. When it comes to filing a visa application, this emphasizes the need for consulting with an immigration attorney.

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will use your profile to discover a suitable nation for you to immigrate to. Because visiting a completely new nation is an extremely tough experience, they will provide recommendations based on your requirements. If a student wants to study abroad, an immigration counselor can assist them in selecting the appropriate nation. This is due to their affiliations with several overseas institutions and universities. We are the best

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there is no doubt about it. You can compare our services with any other immigration services of the locality we bet that you will find us better.

[kayla1993-world]

Woman faces removal from Canada after college admission letter turned out to be fake

Upon arriving in Canada in 2018, her biggest wish was to be treated just like everyone else. A 24-year-old Indian woman faces expulsion after finishing postsecondary studies in Edmonton and working for years.

An admission letter from a college in Ontario, which helped her get her study permit, was false. It was procured by an immigration agent. During her application to stay in Canada permanently, Kaur learned the letter was fake last year.

In northern India, Kaur grew up in a small community in Punjab. She says she has limited blood circulation on her right side due to a childhood accident, which can make it difficult to move her right arm and leg.

"As a disabled woman I faced a great deal of discrimination, especially with women," Kaur said. At school, she was harassed by classmates and stared at everywhere she walked. According to her, she was unlikely to be able to get a good job or meet a spouse in India because of her disability. As a result, the family sought advice from an immigration agent. Their head handled the discussion, she said. The agent took Kaur's payment as well as her contact information.

It is not known how much education her father, a farmer, or her mother, a homemaker, have. Her lawyer, Manraj Sidhu, says her family did not have a computer and was unaware of immigration procedures.

Three days before her flight to Canada in April 2018, the agent provided her with a letter of acceptance from Seneca College. Kaur drove to the border, presented her letter to border officials who approved it and granted her a study permit.

Kaur was contacted by her immigration agent once she arrived in Ontario. She was informed that the position at Seneca was no longer available as the immigration agent had severed ties with the college. Instead of applying an expensive private college, he encouraged Kaur to enroll at Norquest College in Edmonton. Initially, Kaur struggled to adjust to a new country, but she eventually found a job as a cashier.

She graduated from Norquest in June 2020 with a diploma in business administration management. "This country doesn't discriminate against me. I feel like a regular person here," Kaur said. The plan to stay in Canada long term was progressing according to plan until she applied for permanent residency. An employee of the Canada Border Services Agency employee informed her of the fraudulent nature of the Seneca College letter in May 2021.

Kaur expressed shock at the revelation. Because she and her family knew little about the immigration process, they trusted the agent. Immigration agents are often hired by people in her community who hope to relocate abroad, she said.

According to Marco Luciano, director of Migrante Alberta, predatory immigration agents take advantage of people hoping to come to or stay in Canada. "This is a billion dollar industry and there are a lot of consultants and third parties taking advantage of it," he said.

"Everyone has to do their research before trusting an immigration consultant or recruiter with their documents," he explained. The recent creation of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants has provided more oversight but more needs to be done, according to Luciano.

In Jan. 2021, Kaur argued her case at a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada but the decision-maker overseeing the hearing sided with the lawyer for the minister of public safety and ordered her exclusion.

Kaur will not be able to return to Canada for five years after she leaves. Despite a transcript of the hearing, the decision-maker said: "I find her testimony to be credible; nothing in her testimony suggests that she believed she had been admitted to Seneca College."

The decision noted that since Kaur was an adult who had managed to enter Canada, she had the responsibility to verify her status at Seneca herself. "Rather than relying solely on an immigration consultant, I think it would make more sense for students to reach out to their school after admission."

Kaur is facing an exclusion order from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, but a request for an interview was declined. In an attempt too overturn the order, Kaur's lawyer has applied for leave to seek judicial review from the court.

His client faces an uphill battle legally, Sidhu said. "It is unreasonable to expect a disabled woman from rural India who never had a phone, who never had a bank account, who was never left alone without her parents, who never had internet access to contact the college authorities herself and find out if her letter of acceptance was genuine," he said.

The moment Kaur realized the letter was fake, her father informed the Indian police. Sidhu provided CBC with documents from the Punjab and Haryana High Court indicating the agent is under investigation for the fraudulent letter and for taking money from Kaur's family.

In spite of having his bail revoked, the agent is out of jail and is harassing and threatening Kaur's family, Kaur and Sidhu said. According to Kaur, he is also warning her not to testify in India. "Police cannot save me from that person."

Sidhu plans to request her humanitarian and compassionate stay in Canada in a second application. Not only is Kaur afraid of returning to India, but she's concerned about losing everything Canada has given her.

"Here, I can do my stuff by myself," she said. "We need not rely on others."

[yegarts]

Yorath House Artist Residency Blog Post 3: Go West Young Man: William Lewis Wilkin

By Adriana A. Davies Yorath House Artist-in-Residence Written January 10 -14, 2022

North Saskatchewan River gold dredging equipment, 1902. Photographer: Frank Cowles. City of Edmonton Archives EA-16-1741.

Dennis and Bette Yorath and their children lived in the house where Marlena Wyman and I are artists-in-residence. William Lewis Wilkin was Bette Yorath’s Father. His memoir was loaned to me by the family and provides many insights into the development of Edmonton and region. William, a real estate agent, purchased the land on which Yorath House was built as part of his firm’s property speculation.

William Wilkin begins his unpublished memoir as follows:

Wl Wilkin 1875-1892-1964

The above dates are (1) the year I was born (2) the year I left England for Canada (Edmonton) & (3) the year I started this. From 1 to 3 I have [had a] good life – one of a family of 7 – 3 boys & 4 girls – my father was a hard working medical man & one of the best. My mother was also good & what she said – went or someone took the rap!

When I was about 15 I began to think about what my future should be – I figured my father’s life was “all work & no play” so the medical was out for me (both my brothers went in for it). I always had a hankering to go abroad – so I wrote a cousin in Texas (Bainbridge) who had a sheep ranch but he (wisely) turned me down. Then I thought of my mother’s brother who was in Canada & had just moved from Peninsula Harbour to Edmonton (this was in 1892) – he replied – come-along so in August I sailed from Liverpool with a ticket to Edmonton.i

Seventeen-year-old William (or Billy), who was born in Wickleanbick, Suffolk, England, is a perfect representative of the kind of settler that the Government of Canada wanted to attract through the slogan “Go West Young Man.” He was English and educated, and immigration policies were definitely racist and went from the desirable (British, Northern Europeans and Americans) to the less desirable (Southern and Eastern Europeans, Asians and Blacks).

William was welcomed by his Uncle, Henry (Harry) Wilson, who was a 42-year-old merchant living in Strathcona with his wife Annie and their daughter Muriel. His store was on Whyte Avenue across from the Strathcona Hotel. William went to work for his Uncle and though the hours were long (7:30 am to 10 pm), the pay was good ($15 a month plus free meals – he observes that his Aunt was a wonderful cook). One of his chores was to clean and refill the three large coal-oil lamps that lighted the store. After three or four months, he dropped one and his Uncle reprimanded him, and he quit. I think secretly he was bored by the work and wanted adventure. William apprenticed with a carpenter for a few months, who then went broke and couldn’t pay him, and he returned to work for his Uncle until the store was sold to the MacLaren brothers around 1897.

With a $1,000 loan from his Uncle, William rented his own dry goods store, also on Whyte Avenue, and lived upstairs. It was successful (he says he made $5,000) but the travel itch spurred him on to fight in the Boer War leaving a friend in charge of the store. He left Edmonton in 1899, after enlisting with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse as a trooper, and had various adventures and received a land grant in South Africa. He returned a year-and-a-half later and found that his friend Art Richards had made a great success of the store and they became partners.

It’s clear from the memoir that William could never pass up an idea to make money and have an adventure, a trait that he shared with many of the early settlers. He writes:

Prior to this, in fact before I went in business on my own – about 1895 – a friend of mine (Hiram Lendrum – Buzz for short) & I conceived the idea of a trading trip down the river with the miners. At that time there were about 500 mines – some with their tunnels – between here & Battleford – working for gold & making from 2.00 to 3.00 a day. Accordingly we went to Jack Wallis who had a lumber yard on the river bank & he supplied the lumber & showed us how to build a scow. In a few days we had it finished. We loaded it with flour – potatoes – salt – butter in wooden pails (not 1st class) overalls & shirts – picks & shovels & some quicksilver to catch the fine flakes [of] gold. We started early one fine August morning on our floating venture. After a day or two Buzz began limping – he told me had scraped his shin when loading the scow. He showed it me & it looked really bad – dark red & pus forming – next day it was worse & hurting in his groin. First aid kit we had forgotten but we had lots of salt. He was suffering a lot & we both knew something had to be done quickly. The scab was from knee to ankle – I pulled it off with my knife & washed it well with well salted river water – sprinkled it with dry salt & covered it with a couple of handkerchiefs. Next day it was no worse but quite painful but no pain in the groin. We repeated the treatment & in a few days well on the mend.

The weather was fine – in fact very hot - & the trading went well. We had long seeps (oars) in each end of the scow which was about 8’ X 14’ & when a miner hove in sight we pulled in to the bar on which he was working. In trading we had gold scales & took the gold at 18.00 an ounce – the rate the banks paid them. On one bar – Carrigan’s – about 150 miles down from Edmonton – there were 59 to 80 men working & doing pretty well & they were short of pretty well everything we had for sale. Butter was quite a problem – the weather was hot & it got almost liquid in the pails – so each morning there was a rusty dirty looking scum on top of the pails so we swished them in the river & then put on about an inch of salt. Before approaching a bunch of prospective customers we treated a few pails that way & they really looked quite decent. We sold them by the pail not by the pound – a pail held about 25 lbs of butter & we charged ¼ oz gold (4.50) for it – Butter was scarcer at Carrigans so the quality wasn’t questioned – much!ii

When they got to Battleford, 10 or 12 days later, their scow was empty and they had acquired quite a bit of gold from their sales. They sold the scow for $30 and bought a couple of horses and a buckboard wagon, and drove back to Edmonton. He points out that it was 500 miles but if they had travelled on the North Saskatchewan River, it would have been 800 miles. It took them three weeks to get back. At the time, there was no means or notion of getting anywhere quickly.

After a couple of years in business, William sold out to his partner Richards and went out on a scouting trip for opportunities in the Kootenays, specifically around Revelstoke, but found nothing to interest him. He turned next to Fort Saskatchewan because not only was there extremely rich soil there but he could purchase a general store from Joe Morris, an established retailer and later City of Edmonton alderman. William’s Uncle, who had been running the Strathcona Post Office, decided to join him on this venture with a 50:50 split. They prospered for the next three or four years and, then, William bought his Uncle out of his share. In 1904, he went to England to marry Hilda Richardson Carter and, in the midst of the wedding jollity, he got a rude shock when a cable from his Uncle arrived informing him that the store had burned down. The wedding went ahead and the couple had a delightful honeymoon travelling around England before returning to Edmonton.

William had then to focus on making a living and found that he was underinsured and could neither rebuild nor restock the store. He writes:

After about a year of hard plugging working like a dog all days – trying to sell goods - & writing my infuriated creditors nearly all nights – enclosing small remittances when possible – to keep them quiet – I at last got a contractor at the Fort (Frank Featherstone) that I knew quite well – to put up a building (40’ X 120’) for me. I recall that about half way through the first year of married life, I got a letter from R. J. Whitten & Corp Ltd, Wpg, wholesale dry goods people with whom I had dealt from the start. They said they knew I was having a tough time & if any creditors got nasty I could draw on them up to 1000.00 & pay them off. I owed them quite a lot at the time & this bucked me up a lot.

The year 1905 was a banner one: William succeeded in setting up a new store in Fort Saskatchewan and he and Hilda had their first child, a son named after him. He also took on a partner, S. O. Jones, who managed a grocery concern in San Francisco and wanted to come to Canada. Jones’ brother-in-law Sam Dickson practised Law in the town. In the memoir, William provides details about shipping as follows:

The merchandise – tons of it – went by the river in scows. Jones – on account of his former life as purser with S. Pacific Steamship to the Orient took charge of the river voyage with young Harry Wilson & his cousin Gordon Gunn, as crew. Later Jones told me Harry was a good worker – but Gordon wasn’t worth a d-- & he would have thrown him overboard – but he thought his people might be friends of mine!

He prospered in business (in 1906 he became the president of the Fort Saskatchewan Board of Trade) and the family continued to grow with the addition of Jean, Margaret Elizabeth (Bette) Robert and Richard (Dick). It was almost inevitable that William would get into property development since there were fortunes to be made. William registered three homesteads: one near Morinville, a second near Fort Saskatchewan and the third, a South African land grant. He set up in real estate and insurance in Edmonton and initially operated as Wilkin & Jones; next he partnered with Jim MacKinnon, who was elected to Parliament in 1937. William is very astute about business and, after a half century of reflection, writes:

About that time Cyrus Eaton came to Edmonton to try to get a gas franchise & became acquainted with my friend George Hunt who was then editor of the Bulletin. Cyrus was then 26 – a junior partner of Otis & Cory – Cleveland bankers - & married to a charming girl – Margaret – daughter of a Cleveland medical man – we met them both on one of our Edmonton jaunts & liked them a lot. George & Cyrus came down to the Fort to see us & after wandering around the town, Cyrus said “This looks like a growing place – could we get some lots cheap?” Shortly before this – Bill Corbett – the local lawyer – had offered me some lots in the Lang estate that he was in the process of winding up. I told Cyrus this & said “Let’s go and see Bill.” We did & it winded up that Cyrus & I going 50/50 – on 200 lots at 5.00 each. We each put up 500.00. We agreed that the lots would be transferred to Cyrus (as he lived at a distance – Cleveland) & that Cyrus would give Bill a Power of Attorney also a letter stating that I owned a half interest. Bill was to pay taxes from proceeds of any lots he could sell – at better than 10.00 per! For 2 or 3 years Bill sold enough to keep the taxes paid & then a long slump & it became a choice of putting up or letting the lots be forfeited for non payment of taxes. There looked to be no let up in the slump so let them go! Today these lots are selling at around 2000.00 per – so much for our judgement!!

The Nova Scotia-born Eaton would become a prominent investment banker in the US. William’s casual reference to Eaton demonstrates that Alberta was considered an important investment opportunity not only by Americans but also British speculators and Eastern Canadian tycoons. While these dominated, there were also some French and German ones.

The Wilkin family home on the corner of 123 Street and 103 Avenue, 1920s. It was a three-storey Crafstman-style home with a wrap-around porch and was located across the street from Robertson-Wesley United Church and kitty-corner from the Buena Vista Apartments. Photo courtesy of Richard Wilkin.

As property ventures began to dominate William’s business life, he and Hilda decided to move to Edmonton from Fort Saskatchewan. They auctioned their furniture so that they could have a fresh start and also went to England for a holiday with children Bill and Jean. This was not a “steerage voyage” and he writes: “The trip over was as far as I remember very nice but not startling. On the boat Bill & Jean (about 4 & 2) shared our nice fairly large cabin at night & had meals & play room in the nursery which was well equipped with everything including a competent nurse.”

After about six weeks, William returned to Edmonton leaving Hilda and the children to continue their holiday with their grandparents. He writes: “MacKinnon had rented an office for Wilkin & MacKinnon on First St. (101 St now). It was on the ground floor – on the East side of the Street – in the block just off Jasper – 14 ft frontage 7 about 50 ft deep – 75.00 per month.” The property speculation continued and family became involved:

Before leaving England (the last time) my brothers-in-law Tom & Vincent Carter – had asked me to let them know if I ran up against anything that looked good & very shortly after my return we were offered a ¼ section of land 4 miles North on 101 St for 35000.00. We got them down to a firm offer of 30000.00 & I cabled the Carters suggesting we take it each 1/3 interest. They cabled back accepting & we each put up 10000.00 & closed the deal & the land, for convenience was registered in the names of Wilkin & MacKinnon in Trust for T. OC – V WC & W.LW each with 1/3 interest.

We named the land Manhattan Park & had it sub-divided into 1 acre lots which priced at from 500.00 to 1000.00 each (the going price for such property at that time) would show a very handsome return. I had advised my partners (TOC & VWC) that it would probably be a pretty long hold. This was in 1911 & unfortunately I couldn’t foresee what 1914 would do to real estate! Now that I am on the subject I might as well give the final sad history of Manhattan Park. Real Estate was active in 1912 & the first half of 1913 when it began to slow down. During that time we sold over half of Manhattan at an average price of 750.00 an acre – on terms ¼ cash & the balance in 3 equal payments in 6 – 12 & 18 months with interest at 7% on deferred payments. Collections on deferred payments began to get slow in late 1913 & got slower up to the time war broke out 1914 when they stopped as did nearly all payments to you & by you – but unfortunately – taxes went on & eventually ate up Manhattan – the final swallow being in 1917 & 1918. Today Manhattan is in town lots 50’ X 150’ & is pretty well built up with quite descent homes. Today’s value of lots there is from 1000.00 to 1500.00 or about 5000.00 to 7500.00 an acre – a nice profit if we had been able to hang on to it! So much for that time!

Buildings on 101 Street and 101A Avenue looking northeast, 1912. Buildings: Moser Ryder Block and Tegler Building (under construction; hotels: Royal George; Businesses: Edmonton Journal, White Employment Agency and Wilkin & MacKinnon Real Estate. The frontage also included Eddie’s Pocket Billiards. City of Edmonton Archives EA-10-212.

The Manhattan Park subdivision later became Griesbach. By the beginning of the First World War in 1914, the property boom had gone bust and did not revive when the War ended. The federal government incurred enormous expenses fighting the war and municipal governments, as a result of various failed property development ventures, had severely reduced property tax bases and were in debt. Many people lost their homes because of non-payment of taxes.

Wilkin & MacKinnon had to declare bankruptcy in 1914. Their insurance business continued so they were making a living. There were other failures during the bust. William owned three lots east of City Hall and was offered $75,000 for them in early 1914. He refused the offer and, in 1917-18, forfeited the lots to the City for non-payment of taxes. A farm that he owned in Morinville comprising 240 acres also went. When writing in 1964, he observes, “Now I hear there are 2 oil wells on that place. There were quite a few other cracks but what’s the use of recording them!” The property was in the vicinity of Morinville and located near what became the Redwater oil field discovered by Imperial Oil in central Alberta in 1948 (the Leduc well came in in 1947).

In 1916, William decided to enlist and got a commission in the 19th Alberta Dragoons and, subsequently joined the 218th Battalion as a captain (he became a major a couple of months later). His enlistment papers note his home address as 10304 – 123 Street. The Company went overseas early in 1917 and landed at Purfleet, a railway troop station at the mouth of the Thames. When William and other Canadian officers (all of whom had served in militias and/or in the Boer War) arrived at Shorncliffe Military Camp in Kent, military authorities told them: “Owing to circumstances beyond the control of the Canadian Army in England, a very large surplus of officers has accumulated in England. Much as it is regretted, there is no alternative but to ask you to revert to the rank of lieutenant or return to Canada.”

William Lewis Wilkin in military uniform, 218th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, ca. 1916. Photo courtesy of Richard Wilkin.

The Canadian officers did not take this well and “Major Wilkin” gave them their rallying cry – “To hell with going home. I served as a trooper in South Africa and I can serve as a private in France. I go home when the war is over.”iii As an established property developer and broker, he ended up in charge of provisioning for the British Army in France. He writes: “From Eccke I was posted to Thiembronne Area – in Pas de Calais. This was a Divisional Area 8 x 12 miles of farming country capable of billeting a Division at full strength. The area included a village, several hamlets as well as farms. Wilkin was responsible for billeting and ensuring that suitable accommodations were found for the troops. He had 60 “B” men (Permanent Base men unfit for the trenches) working for him. While much is written about military action, little is known about how thousands of troops in the field were fed and housed. Wilkin brought a great deal of retail and organizational skill to his job. He began with creating a comprehensive map of the area showing roads, buildings including houses and barns. He also marked the number of officers, men and horses to be billeted and noted that a large barn could accommodate 60-70 men, and 20 horses. He writes: “The Army paid – per night – 1 franc for an Officer – ½ franc for other ranks & horses. A franc was thus worth 20 cts & billeting returns which I sent at intervals to 2nd Army ran into very big money. ”When the War ended, William was discharged and crossed the Atlantic; he notes: “At that time Russian Flu was pretty bad in Canada – particularly in the West. On the final stage of my journey home on the C.P.R. at stations west of Winnipeg there were stacks of long wooden boxes obviously containing coffins – piled up awaiting shipment – not a cheerful sight for a home-coming!” Shades of the present Covid-19 Pandemic!

The Wilkin children: (left to right): Robert, Margaret Elizabeth (Bette), Jean, William and Richard (Dick), ca. 1924. The children are pictured in the yard of the family home near the Buena Vista apartments. Photo courtesy of Richard Wilkin.

Thankfully, the family was well; Bill was now 12, Jean 10, Betty 7 and Bob 4. This was not the case in his business life:

Oh boy! Next day I went to the office & started delving into things & found everything about as bad as it could be. So much so that I decided to scrap W & McK & start all over again. My old friend George Hunt was back & was not keen to go back into the newspaper business – so we talked partnership. Nicholas Kilburn an ex Barr Colonial showed up & we became Wilkin, Hunt & Kilburn Limited (very!) Real Estate Insurance & Bonds. Well we plugged along for a while – making with care & a lot of hard work a living for the 3 families. Business was really tough – almost non-existent. In forming the new firm I suggested we should bank at the Merchants as I had been with them for years & felt that they could put a good deal of business our way – the Manager – Frank Pike – being an old friend of mine – George thought the Imperial & Kilburn the Royal Bank – also for the same reason. Anyway we decided on the Merchants.iv

As time went on we got some business from both the Royal & Imperial Bank but practically none from the Merchants. Naturally both George & Kilburn twitted me about this & after 2 or 3 years of “I told you so’s” I really got mad & went in to see my old friend Frank Pike to bawl him out.

The result of the meeting with Pike, which took place in 1923, was that his friend directed him to a bank-owned property, the old Rossdale Brewery in the Flats. Title had reverted to the Merchant Bank and they wanted to sell it.v The building had been occupied by the Edmonton Brewing and Malting Company, which had been established by Strathcona Mayor W. H. Sheppard, who owned the Strathcona Hotel, and partners Tommy and W. E. Lines. The brewery was built in 1905. The partners moved their brewery to the rail lands in Oliver in 1913. The Rossdale building, which had served as the home of the Arctic Ice Company, had been damaged in the 1915 floods and was in a sorry state.vi

When on the scent of a good deal, William is tenacious. He writes:

I replied “Oh well – why don’t you give me the Eiffel Tower to sell – it would be just as easy.” I really thought so at the moment: the brewery was a wreck – windows broken – all plumbing frozen up & the lower stor[e]y full of ice. Prohibition was then in force & had been since 1916. A few days later I had to go to Calgary & on the train coming back Milton Martin and Frank Ford got in in Red Deer. In the course of conversation Frank said he had heard on good authority that there was to be a plebiscite on prohibition shortly – I thought of the brewery & the 3 of us felt hopeful that the stupid law would be licked. Next day I found out that definitely there was to be a plebiscite on a certain date & called in again to see Frank Pike. I didn’t want to appear to be too friendly – just so so & said “Were you bluffing when you said to sell the brewery for 2500.00?” He replied, huffily, “No I don’t bluff about such matters.” I said, “Would the Bank give us option for 4 months for 2500.00 – option money to apply to purchase price?” (a 4 month option would exceed the plebiscite by four days) he said “Yes they would.” I gave him my c/c for 100.00 to bind the bargain with the assurance that 2400.00 would be forthcoming as soon as the option papers were ready.

Legislation to end Prohibition was passed in 1923 making the investment viable. William then had to find investors to make up the purchase price of $2,400, which proved difficult because, as he says, most of his friends and associates were broke. He talked to about 50 prospects by phone pitching a $100 buy-in, and succeeded in getting 25 to sign on. They then established a syndicate. William terminated his business with partner MacKinnon and set up a family owned one, William L. Wilkin Ltd, involving his sons but his focus was on the brewery. Just as his deal with Pike was firmed up, William heard of a rival bid from George O’Conner for $75,000, which he felt put Pike in an awkward position. Thankfully, Pike stayed with the syndicate. When it seemed that things couldn’t get more complicated, they did. Another bid for $75,000 came in addressed directly to William’s newly-formed syndicate. They were split. He writes:

We had a meeting of the 25 Syndicate members & some headed by Milton Martin, wanted to sell for 75000.00 & with some others Chattell, Whyte, Chard, Lessard et al) wanted to hold – form a joint stock Coy – and make a going concern of it . After a lengthy & heated argument we put it to a vote & our crowd won by a narrow margin.

William then got busy getting the paperwork in place to set up the company (New Edmonton Breweries Ltd.) because a prospectus had to be submitted to the Utilities Board. They did this and got the green light; Arthur Carpenter became chairman of the Board. Company requirements were that all monies from shareholders had to be deposited in a trust account at the bank until $100,000 was reached (this figure was specified by Carpenter); William and some of the other shareholders tried to talk him down to $50,000 without success. After weeks of hard selling, the magic figure of $80,000 was reached and they stalled. One of the shareholders, a civil servant, asked for his money back and William gave it to him (the former shareholder would later whine about this when the company became successful). William writes:

As it was things were pretty desperate – no more good prospects of buyers of shares in sight, & the owners of the opposition local brewery (now Edmonton later Sicks) spreading rumors that our brewery – having been empty so long – was badly infected with a mould that would ruin any beer brewed there – for years to come – perhaps forever! It was an anxious time so much so that Whyte & I talked Geo Kirkpatrick – Manager of the Imperial Bank (when we had a bit over 80000.00 in a Trust a/c) for a quick loan of 20000.00 to let us go to allotment - & start things going. After quite a lot of talk we got it & a very heavy load was lifted.

The opposition was, of course, W. H. Sheppard, owner of the aforementioned very successful Edmonton Brewing and Malting Company located in 1913 in a purpose-built “feudal-style beer castle” at 104 Avenue/Stony Plain Road and 121 Street.

Having got the finances in place, William concentrated on renovations to the building and finding a talented brew master. He consulted the local agent for the financial firm Dun & Bradstreet for names of firms in Canada or the US that supplied brewery equipment. He wrote to a firm in Chicago and they assured him that they could provide him with all of the equipment that he needed. The US was in the midst of Prohibition, which lasted much longer there than in Canada (1920-1933), and breweries were interested in helping Canadian counterparts up their production. What was unsaid was that some of this production could be transported to the US illegally by rumrunners! At the time, American breweries could only make 2 percent or “Prohibition Beer.” Dun & Bradstreet also recommended the head brew master for Schlitz of Milwaukee whom they indicated was fed up with his job thanks to Prohibition. The brewmaster, a Mr. Kerber, came to Edmonton to look over the brewery and found everything satisfactory. He took the job and $15,000 in shares. William writes: “Kerber was a past master in everything connected with the business & in jig time had the place equipped in first class style & beer brewing. From then on we never looked back & in a couple of years were paying dividends.”

After the initial years in Rossdale, in the mid-1920s, the North West Brewing Company moved to a large, purpose-built building located on Saskatchewan Drive in Strathcona (today 10542 Fort Hill). The property has an interesting background. In 1894, Robert and Alice Ochsner arrived in Edmonton from Ontario and started the South Edmonton Brewing Company (the oldest in Edmonton), which later became the Strathcona Brewing and Malting Company Limited.vii The brewery made it into the November 1906 issue of The Western Brewer and Journal of the Barley, Malt and Hops Trades, which includes US and Canadian content. The short entry on page 563 notes: “The Strathcona Brewing & Malting Co., Strathcona, Alberta, are practically rebuilding their brewery, the improvement consisting of a new brew house, wash house, racking room, stock house, machine and boiler house, plans for which are being drawn by Bernard Barthel, architect, Chicago.” What made the site particularly attractive was that it had an artesian spring with pure water for brewing. The Ochsners had a going concern but, by 1907, they were ready to leave the business and did a swap with William Anthony Stoughton for the Bittern Lake Ranch southeast of Edmonton. Stoughton was a minor British aristocrat who arrived in Alberta and filed for a homestead in 1893 and had a grand house built on it in 1897. Stoughton ran the Brewery for a time before returning to the UK; the building was sold.

The North West Brewing and Malting Company, 1932, City of Edmonton Archives EA-160-868.

While other businesses were suffering as a result of the Great Depression of the 1930s, William notes that the family firm (real estate and insurance) and the North West Brewing Company were a great success. He writes:

The hungry 30’s were eased very considerably by the dividends & other business WLH & Co got from NWB [North West Brewing] Ltd. In fact during those few tough years we were building up a new business. For a time Bill – then about 18 – worked in the Brewery – to get an insight into the business – with a view to getting an executive job later on. This didn’t happen – I am glad to say – as he & Bob now have full time jobs running W.L.W. Ltd. Bill however is now President of the same brewery under a different name (the brewery – not Bill) it having become one of the chain of breweries controlled by E. P. Taylor through the Argus Coy.

In order to negotiate a deal, after meetings at the MacDonald Hotel in the early 1950s, William went to Toronto to meet directly with Taylor and iron out the details. William wanted $15 a share and initially Taylor said this was too much. The deal making continued as follows:

I met E.P. at the offices of O’Keefe’s Brewery (one of his string of breweries) & we discussed matters from soup to nuts & came to the conclusion – E.P. would pay 12.00 a share in NWB for control & as many more shares that were offered. I said that I felt sure that control could not be got for under 15.00 a share. E.P. said can you guarantee control at 15.00 – I said in a month I can say yes or no definitely & if yes it will be with the proviso that you take as many shares over control that our clients may wish to sell at 15.00. E.P. said 15.00 is too much but I’ll think it over & again you may be sure anything that I do with NW would be done through your office.viii

The deal ultimately went through but not without a battle royal and an interim step. Early in 1952, William and his wife were on a holiday in South Africa and, on their way back with a stop to visit family in England, his son Bill telephoned him from Edmonton as follows:

The gist of his message was that Milton Martin with the help of Jack Patterson had – on the quiet – assured E.P. Taylor that he could get him control for 12.00 a share & before Bill had heard of it they had corralled a goodly number of shares at that price. Bill – with the help of Dennis Yorath & some others immediately got busy & got Jim Cross of the Calgary Brewing Coy – into the picture (at that time Calgary Brewing also wanted control – but more so, wanted to keep E.P.’s string of breweries out of the Province). After a fierce battle prices went up to 23.00 a share & Jim Cross got control – at an average price of about 17.00 to 18.00 a share – about 5 or 6.00 a share more than they were actually worth in dividend earning bases. WLW Ltd cashed in on this for a nice bundle & our friends did likewise.

J. B. Cross purchased the company in 1953 and renamed it Bohemian Maid Brewing Company; however, Taylor would ultimately gain control of the Cross breweries, in 1958, for $30 to $40 million to consolidate his empire. The Edmonton facility became an O’Keefe Brewery and was eventually shut down. In 1974, the empty building became the City of Edmonton Artifact Centre.

Having fought in the First World War “for King and Country,” William mentions the enlistment in the Second World War of two of his sons as follows:

Bob & Dick joined up in the Air Force. They were both Pilots when they enlisted – Bob having a private pilot’s licence. However on account of being color blind he could not qualify as a pilot in the Air Force – so took on the job as Equipment officer. Dick was a pilot & saw a lot of action as his 7 medals indicate. Bob – being a ground officer (much to his disgust but not mine!) didn’t have a chance to pick off decorations but did a lot of good work according to some R.C.A.F senior officers I knew. Early in September 1943 we got a wire to say Dick was missing. We knew he had been in very hazardous jobs for some time – flying a Halifax to France & other points to equip & transport members of the underground. He had a crew of 6 - & no escort in any of his trips. For a time we had hopes he had been picked up by the underground – but in Dec 1943 we were notified that his body had been washed ashore at Terschelling – Holland. The great many letters were received from his brother officers were lovely tributes to the dear boy’s memory.

With respect to his property development activities through the family company, he says virtually nothing; perhaps he thought readers would be more interested in the higher-profile brewery company story. He does, however, describe a major building acquisition as follows:

It was early in 1942 that I happened to remark that I was fed up with the office being on the 7th floor of the Tegler Bdg & would like to get a place on the ground floor in a good location preferably on Jasper. My wife perked up & said (looking very wise) – “Why don’t you get the old Molson’s Bank? It’s been empty a long time.” This was owned by Banque Canadien National who were closing out their branch here & had a man in a 1 roomed office in the Gariepy Block closing up details – collections, etc. I went to see him next day & after a bit of dickering bought the place – (3 stories & basement 40’ X 80’ & lot 40’ X 150’) for 50000.00 – terms 10000.00 cash & balance 500.00 per month with 5% on deferred payments. I moved the office from the Tegler Bdg to the Bank premises (on the ground floor) & sorted the 2 upstairs stories as offices. Taking a fair rental for our office spaces – plus the rental for upstairs – also for the basement – the total came to a bit more than the monthly payments we had to make. We christened it the Wilkin Building & occupied it for about 11 years when we sold it for about five times its cost – including rentals received.

The Wilkin Building, as it was named, was located at 10079 Jasper Avenue and no longer exists. In an article titled “Edmonton’s Lost Banks,” Lawrence Herzog noted: “In 1914, Edmonton had 26 banks, and most of them were on Jasper Avenue. They included Imperial Bank, Bank of Toronto, Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Merchants Bank, Molsons Bank, Bank of Ottawa, Bank of Montreal, Quebec Bank, Banque Jacques-Cartier, Standard Bank and Royal Bank of Canada. There were trust companies, too, like Canada Permanent and National.” In the 1950s, Canadian banks were destroying their early, neo-classical style buildings and this included the banks on Jasper Avenue.ix In the Henderson’s Directory of 1958, William took out banner ads advertising his real estate and brokerage business – W. L. Wilkin Ltd.

The Buena Vista Park land that William either gifted or sold to daughter Bette and son-in-law Dennis Yorath is unmentioned. As befitting a prosperous businessman, the initial Wilkin family home was a large, three-storey house located on 123 Street and 103 Avenue. In the mid-1940s, William built a house at 10314 Connaught Drive in Old Glenora. He lived there with his wife Hilda until his death at the age of 97. The house was then sold and torn down.

After a life of wheeling and dealing, he enjoyed retirement and recounts that from the 1950s, he and Hilda travelled to South Africa, the Bahamas, Hawaiian Islands and destinations in the US to get away from the cold. I will give the final word to him with respect to the Edmonton/Calgary rivalry:

Looking back over the years – from 1892 – I feel that it is a privilege to have been able to watch the development of this Western Country. Winnipeg when I first saw it was in the doldrums just recovering from a boom. The slump must have come with a bang as witnessed by the half finished buildings standing with no money to finish them – not quite but almost a ghost-town. At that time (1892) the leading towns ranked in importance Winnipeg – Vancouver – Calgary & Edmonton. Now, according to latest statistics – they are Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary. Vancouver being the main Pacific port & having a milder climate than the rest has forged ahead. It is also reputed to be the main dope peddling City on the Continent! This may – or may not – have helped – or hindered its progress!! Edmonton – thanks to unbounded resources (not overlooking oil) & a stable government (hats off to Manning) has gone ahead in leaps & bounds. Until a very few years ago Edmonton always trailed Calgary.

Winnipeg is still the distributing point for a very large area – the most of Manitoba & North – but losing the Grain Exchange was a bad crack. Also the climate is not what one would salubrious!

Calgary will always go ahead. Their people are wonderful boosters & in spite of never having had as many natural resources as Edmonton they kept ahead of Edmonton until a few years ago. The spirit of Calgary I admire a lot. That reminds me of a run-in I had with the late George O’Connor some years ago. We were walking down to our offices one fine Summer morning – got on to the subject of Calgary & George said “I can’t understand how it is that Calgary keeps ahead of us.” I said “That’s easy – the Calgary people get out & sell Calgary to the world & we – with twice as much to sell – keep our traps shut & expect a Fairy Godmother to work out our Salvation.” Then things got hot & George said to me “You think so d—much of Calgary – why the hell don’t you go & live there?”

_____________________________________________________________

i I would like to thank the Yorath families for generously sharing with me a range of archival materials relating to their history.

ii Hiram Lendrum is a member of the Lendrum family headed by Robert Lendrum. According to the entry in the City of Edmonton Archives, “Arthur Lendrum moved to Edmonton in 1892 to engage in farming, as there was little survey work. His farm property now makes up the Lendrum Place neighbourhood of Edmonton. About 1896 he left the farm to engage in survey work for the government around Edmonton. He was still surveying, when he slipped on a sidewalk, resulting in a fractured hip, from which he died shortly afterwards on February 27, 1912. His wife had died on July 25, 1911 and they are both buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Edmonton.”

iii I wrote an article titled “Edmonton: ‘Unwanted Officers’ Make Do During the First World War,” for the Edmonton Journal in 2014 as part of their commemoration of the First World War.

iv City Council Minutes of February 14, 1921 reflect a motion to purchase Lot 184, Block 11, H.B.R “sold to City at tax sale, for legal costs and taxes” on behalf of J. R. McPhadden, by Wilkin Hunt & Kilburn, City of Edmonton Archives, URL: https://cityarchives.edmonton.ca/uploads/r/city-of-edmonton-archives/d/4/1/d41fde04533fe4fed8d05c5f2ce71892b61e081c4f2770efff2f87376ad55e5b/1921CityCouncilMinutes_meetingno10.pdf, retrieved January 14, 2022.

v See Lawrence Herzog, “Oliver’s Beer Castle,” April 16, 2015, Edmonton Heritage Council, Edmonton City as Museum Project, URL: https://citymuseumedmonton.ca/2015/04/16/olivers-beer-castle/, retrieved January 12, 2022.

vi Rossdale Brewery, Alberta Register of Historic Places, URL: https://hermis.alberta.ca/ARHP/Details.aspx?DeptID=1&ObjectID=4665-0448, retrieve January 12, 2022.

vii Glen Bowe in a blog posting on January 1, 2021, titled “The Bittern Lake Ranch,” in Glen’s Travels: History, Photography, and Travel in Western Canada provides information about the Ochsners and Stoughton and their swap of the Strathcona Brewery and Bittern Ranch. See, URL: https://glenbowe.home.blog/2021/01/01/the-bittern-lake-ranch/, retrieved January 24, 2022.

viii Anon., “The Craft Beer Movement in Canada,” Steam Whistle, June 26, 2015: “Between 1930 and 1940, E.P Taylor acquired 30 Canadian breweries. The shares of the company were eventually sold to Rothmans/Pall Mall for $28.8 million in 1968 and was renamed Carling O’Keefe after the biggest breweries taken over during the expansion. Rothmans went on to sell 50% of their shares to Elders IXL who merged with Molson to become part of Molson Coors Brewing Company. By 1950 the number of breweries was driven from 150 down to 5.” URL: https://steamwhistle.ca/blog/the-craft-beer-movement-in-canada/, retrieved January 9, 2022.

ix Lawrence Herzog, “Edmonton’s Lost Banks,” Edmonton Heritage Council, Edmonton City as Museum Project, URL: https://citymuseumedmonton.ca/2014/09/09/edmontons-lost-banks/, retrieved January 17, 2022.

[acetechne]

Ed: 1885 - 1895

Age: 90-100 / Human Age: 8-9

History and Character Notes below!

[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ x ] [ 7 ]

Historical Notes

- Edmonton’s prospects are in the gutter and Calgary’s are booming, but so are the prospects of Strathcona aka “South Edmonton”. Even so, a few people still come up to settle and set up shop, including Germans and Quebecois and then English-speaking Ontarian.

- By 1887, The NWT was allowed to elect MPs to parliament and Alberta was given one seat. Frank Oliver held back from this race and waited for the territorial election for a council seat next year. 

- Edmonton was still very smol at this point and adult white/metis residents numbered 350. Farmers kept ignoring the clearly superior land and greater rainfall for Calgary’s bad dirt, alas. Even with Red Fife wheat, however, frost still takes most of the crop.

- The Great Man Triumvirate Thing of this period is Frank Oliver (newspaper/politics), Matt McCauley (gr8 for leading mobs and future mayor), and John McDougall (successful merchant), all of whom this book tends to glorify despite it being relatively common knowledge nowadays that Oliver for sure was racist af so I hesitate to say more on them until I do further reading. Anyway, they established the Board of Trade in 1889, the first west of Winnipeg. 

- The Calgary and Edmonton Railway reaches Red Deer at the end of 1890 and then.... stopped in Strathcona instead of crossing the river. Everyone is Aghast. The rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary was still in the preheat stage, but the rivalry between Edmonotn and Strathcona was ready to throw down at any time (and they often did). The population of Strathcona was already about the same and looked like it was going to quickly surpass and subsume Edmonton.

- we got electric lights are we a real city yet? in 1892 the hamlet became a town of 700 people, Amazing!!! But without a town hall they just met over the butcher shop where the volunteer fire brigade had their junk. There were also a couple of false alarms about oil around this time.

- Strathcona tried to steal the Land Office in June of that year- “Timber Tom” Anderson had been appointed Dominion government land agent, so he started loading up all the documents to take them back to South Edmonton... but immediately an angry crowd of Edmontonians surrounded the wagon, took the wheels off, loosed the horses, and rescued the documents before sending “blistering telegrams off to Ottawa”. The NWMP garded the wagon and records until Ottawa had a chance to reconsider. The imagery was just too good.

- After Edmonton was incorporated, more immigrants came to settle including Chinese and Scandinavian settlers as well as what Frank Oliver teasingly referred to in his newspapers as “Edmonton’s Jewish Community” - a single man. The Ukrainians also came during this period

- Everyone’s mostly focused on local town issues but no one can resist digging at Calgary any chance they get. Frank Oliver reprinted a column from a Medicine Hat paper that read “It is undeniable that there is a growing feeling in the territories that Calgary is a pig that wants all the swill in the community trough, and disturbs everyone on its vicinity with incessant squeals for more”.

- We got politics we got schools we got electricity we got lawyers, telephones, breweries, and bicycles are super trendy, and we still have to import butter from Manitoba and turkeys from Ontario. Also fruit trees just straight up die here no matter what lmao.

Design Notes

- Here we have Edith’s first appearance in the timeline! Edith essentially grew out of a Fem!Edmonton design and represents the (now former) city of Strathcona  on the south side of the river from Edmonton. They look similar because of her initial design and because people from outside Edmonton are unlikely to make the distinction between them nowadays. She has a slightly different background than Ed (her heritage is French/British and Blackfoot rather than Cree) and they have adopted a sibling relationship over the years. It was thought she would be the dominant personality of the two but, spoilers, the opposite happened and she has become a small but vibrant part of Edmonton since. Her full human name is now officially Edith Garneau.

- Strathcona is the younger of the two but she caught up to Ed very quickly and even surpassed them, which is why they look about the same age. She also has a similar appearance to her modern one because... she capitalizes a lot on her 1890s-1910s history now.

- Ed may still look like a kid who wouldn’t know puberty if it bit him, but he’s actually just reached his centennial and has reached that inner grandpa phase of not giving a damn anymore because he’s kind of desperate, something i will cover more in The Comic

[dispatchesfrom2020]

2020

Week 29: July 13-19

United States Navy

13: Off the coast of San Diego a naval ship continues to burn after a mysterious fire started below deck over the weekend. After years - decades even - of refusing to change their racist name and imagery, the Washington Red Skins NFL team agrees to drop their nickname. The world-wide anti-racism protests placed renewed pressures on many teams with logos and names derived from stereotypes. In Canada, the Edmonton Eskimos also reluctantly chose to abandon the old name after calls from Inuit people, members of the Edmonton community, and loyal politicians including Mayor Don Iveson. In Hollywood news - Naya Rivera’s body is found in a California lake, several days after she went missing while boating with her young son. He was found aboard the boat, unharmed.

14: In Belarus an electoral commission bans two of the President’s leading opposition from running in the upcoming election - thereby assuring his victory. Angry over the government’s corruption, Belarussians will take to the streets in coming weeks and months to hold pro-democracy protests. In the United States, the Supreme Court lifts a block on federal executions. The government puts 13 convicted murderers to death in the final six months of Trump’s presidency. There are more federal executions under Trump than any other president in history. The Trump administration also quietly walks back an aggressive immigration policy they’d announced earlier in July, threatening to revoke students’ visas if their classes moved online. Might have something to do with the 18 states’ attorneys general and 59 universities (including heavyweights like Harvard and MIT) suing them. 

Donald Trump/Instagram

15: Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for the coronavirus - he takes off his fucking mask to make the announcement to reporters. Ruth Bader Ginsberg is being treated by doctors for an infection - it’s the second time this year she’s been hospitalized. News will break shortly that she has pancreatic cancer - the Supreme Court Justice was previously treated for colon cancer. Ivanka Trump, meanwhile, is catching flack for a phony, cheesy photo promoting Goya Beans - which experts have noted is a federal ethics violation. The company’s CEO, a huge Trump-backer, complained about being ‘cancelled’ after remarks praising the President’s leadership. Trump quickly follows suit, staging an impromptu photoshoot in the oval office promoting the Goya brand.

16: Kayleigh McEnancy says that “Science shouldn’t stand in the way” of re-opening schools. It’s a bad line. As anti-racism protests continue in Portland, Donald Trump’s administration sends national law enforcement officers to the city. The Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, insists this is necessary because the city has failed to protect federal buildings and monuments - the city’s federal courthouse was graffiti’d with anti-police messages during George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests throughout the summer. But the city’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, makes it clear they are unwelcome: “We do not want or need their help”, he tells interviewers. Word spreads that agents are arresting people off federal property - protesters are disappearing.

John Lewis, 25, leading marches over the Edmond Pettus Bridge during the march from Selma to Montgomery. Pettus was a confederate general and Klu Klux Klan leader - and the bride named in his honour was the site of a bloody confrontation between white police officers and black demonstrators planning on marching on Alabama’s capital in support of black voting rights. John Lewis died in July 2020 of pancreatic cancer - Birmingham News

17: John Lewis dies. He is the last of the Civil Rights’ “Big Six” - a group of four activists and advocates who led the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Lewis, then the president of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was the youngest speaker at just 23. Two years later he led the first of three marches from Selma to Montgomery - and was viciously attacked by Alabama Troopers with hoses, dogs, teargas and batons. 17 marchers were hospitalized - including, I presume, Lewis - on account of his fractured skull. Lewis later served Georgia’s fifth district from 1987 until his death. In November, his pastor Reverend Raphael Warnock, and his former intern, Jon Ossoff, will both be elected to the United States senate. It’s a nice piece of continuity - the kind that feels like a balm during times of loss.

18: In Portland, protests are growing. A bystanders’ recent video shows heavily-armed men hauling a young protestor into their vehicle and refusing to identify themselves to concerned onlookers. Jim Clyburn, a prominent member of the Democrats’ black caucus, compares Homeland Security’s use of force to the gestapo - and House majority leader Nancy Pelosi likens the agents to storm-troopers. Chad Wolf’s memo justifying police action in Portland, released on July 16, likens the vandalism of the  courthouse to an attack on America and blames local officials’ for emboldening violence. The memo uses the words “violent anarchists” 72 times. But this federal overreach spurs thousands of new protestors to join the streets in Portland - a local protester and nurse, Najee Gow, says “They are coming for our rights. They are exercising martial law.” Critics allege that Trump is feeling out a heavy-handed approach to anti-racism approaches in Portland because of its reputation as a progressive - but still very white - city before moving on to more racially diverse places. 

Noah Berger, AP

19: An anti-feminist activist, Den Hollander, attempts to assassinate US District Court judge Esther Salas, posing as a FedEx driver. Her college-aged son, Daniel, answers the door, instead, and is shot and killed. Her husband, who rushed to his child’s aid, is wounded by survives. Hollander appeared before the Judge while pursuing a case against the United States’ men-only military draft. Hollander was an active Trump supporter and reportedly volunteered for the President’s campaign.

[immigration-consultant-edmo-blog]

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