Arthur Leslie Cameron

Who was Arthur Leslie Cameron?

Arthur Leslie Cameron was the tenth mayor of Calgary. His second term was after the creation of the Province of Alberta.

Cameron was born in Springfield, Ontario on May 6, 1856. After a builders' apprenticeship in Toronto, Ontario, he decided to move west in 1878. He first went to Manitoba, spending time in Emerson and Brandon. In Brandon, he worked in the lumber business. Here he met Elizabeth Parrish and in 1882 they were married. In 1886, they moved to Medicine Hat, Alberta.

In 1888, Cameron moved to a fledgling Calgary. He spent two terms on the Calgary City Council in the 1890s, then became mayor in 1898 for a one-year term. Cameron returned to the mayoral office in 1907 and held the position for another two years.

Cameron was a member of the University of Alberta Board of Governors and was also involved in the Calgary Board of Trade and the Alberta Club. Together with his wife Elizabeth, he had four children. He died on January 22, 1940 in Victoria, British Columbia at the age of 83.