Matthew McCauley (politician)

Matthew McCauley (July 11, 1850 – October 25, 1930) was the first mayor of the town of Edmonton, and a member of the legislative assemblies of both the Northwest Territories and the province of Alberta.

McCauley was born into a farming family in Sydenham, Canada West (what would become the province of Ontario) to an Irish father and Canadian mother. His restless nature and desire for adventure led him to travel west to Manitoba. In Manitoba, he established a livery business, which he ran until he set off for Edmonton in 1879. He farmed for two years in Fort Saskatchewan before finally moving to Edmonton, where he established the settlement's first livery and cartage business.

Along with a couple prominent Edmonton citizens, he formed an association aimed to restore order in the area, settling many disputes, including during the 1885 Riel Rebellion as its captain. He soon established a school board, recognizing the need for a school, which he served as president and trustee for 18 years. Shortly before Edmonton was incorporated as a town in 1892, he formed the Board of Trade. Upon the town's incorporation, he was acclaimed the town's first mayor in 1892, and the next two years. He did not run for re-election at the end of his third one-year term.

In 1896 he was elected as town alderman.

In August 1896, he ran for the seat representing Edmonton in the Territorial Legislature, which he held for six years. He ran for re-election in 1902, but Richard Secord tooks the seat.

Following this defeat he moved to Tofield, Alberta to farm. In 1905, he returned to Edmonton and was elected to the new Legislative Assembly of Alberta as the member for Vermilion. The following year, he resigned his seat to serve as the first warden of Alberta's first penitentiary. After five years as warden, he moved to British Columbia to own a fruit farm. He moved to a Sexsmith, Alberta farm 13 years later, where he died in 1930.