Gerald O'Connor

Charles Gerald O'Connor KC (December 3, 1890 – November 16, 1949) was a provincial politician and judge from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1940, sitting with the Liberal caucus in government. He also served on the Edmonton City Council in 1931 and 1932 and a federal court judge.

C. Gerald O'Connor KC
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
In office August 22, 1935 – March 20, 1940
Constituency	Edmonton
Personal details
Born	(1890-12-03)December 3, 1890 Walkerton, Ontario
Died	November 16, 1949(1949-11-16) (aged 58) Ottawa, Ontario
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Victoria Smith
Relatives	George Bligh O'Connor (1883-1956) (Brother) George Hamilton (Great-grandfather)
Alma mater	Osgoode Hall Law School
Occupation	lawyer, judge
Military service
Allegiance	Canada
Branch/service	Canadian Expeditionary Force
Rank	Captain
Unit	138th Battalion
Battles/wars	First World War

Early life

Charles Gerald O'Connor was born December 3, 1890, at Walkerton, Ontario, to Frederick Shepherd O'Connor, a lawyer in Walkerton and later Sheriff of Bruce County, and Maria Isabella O'Connor (née Hamilton), the granddaughter of George Hamilton, the founder of Hamilton, Ontario.^[1][2] He was educated in Edmonton and attended Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.^[2] He joined his older brother George Bligh O'Connor and his partner William Antrobus Griesbach to form the legal firm Griesback, O'Connor & O'Connor.^[2][1]

O'Connor enlisted in the 138th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War, serving as a lieutenant.^[3] He served in France and was wounded at the Battle of Passchendaele.^[3] O'Connor briefly returned to Edmonton in 1918, then returned to the front as the Aide-de-camp to Major General Archibald Cameron Macdonell, and was amongst the forces which marched into Germany at the end of the war. O'Connor left the war as a captain.^[3]

He married Victoria Smith on September 5, 1920, and together had two children.

Political life

Edmonton City Council

O'Conner was elected to Edmonton City Council for a two-year term in the 1930 Edmonton municipal election as a member of the Civic Government Association.^[4]

Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta

O'Connor was elected to the 8th Alberta Legislature in the 1935 Alberta general election for the Edmonton electoral district. O'Connor was one of six members returned from the district through the single transferable vote, and although he finished the first round of balloting with 1,116 votes, good enough for 12th of 27 candidates, the subsequent counts through vote transfers saw O'Connor elected. He joined William R. Howson and George Van Allen as the elected Liberal members.^[5]

O'Connor ran for re-election in 1940 as a member of the Independent Movement, a collation of opposition parties against the Social Credit movement. O'Conner was not reelected, receiving 3,392 votes, while fellow Independent Movement candidates John Percy Page, Hugh John Macdonald, and David Milwyn Duggan were elected. Future Premier Ernest Manning and Socred Norman B. James were also elected in Edmonton.^[6]

Judicial career

O'Connor was appointed a Justice of the Exchequer Court of Canada at Ottawa, appointed Puisne Judge on April 19, 1945, until his death on November 16, 1949.^[7][3]

Family

Gerald's older brother George Bligh O'Connor (1883-1956) was appointed to the Supreme Court of Alberta, and later served as Chief Justice.^[8]