John McMurrich

Who was John McMurrich?

John McMurrich was a businessman and political figure in Canada West and later Ontario.

He was born near Paisley, Scotland in 1804 and came to Upper Canada in 1833 to work in a York dry goods business affiliated with a Glasgow-based firm. He became a partner in 1837. McMurrich served on Toronto city council in 1860. He was elected to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada in an 1862 by-election. He served on the Public School Board in Toronto for a number of years and was chairman from 1865 to 1867 and in 1870. In 1867, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for York North as a Liberal; he was defeated in 1871. He was a member of the Toronto Board of Trade and served as president for a number of Toronto companies. He died in Toronto in 1883.

His eldest son, William Barclay, was a mayor of Toronto. Another son, James Playfair, became a distinguished zoologist.