Canadian Planning through a Transnational Lens: the Evolution of Urban Planning in Canada, 1890-1930 Catherine Mary Ulmer A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Fall 08 April 2017 Department of History and Classical Studies, Faculty of Arts, McGill University, Montreal © Catherine Mary Ulmer ii Abstract From the late nineteenth century onwards, a varied group of middle and upper class English- Canadians embraced urban planning, forming connections with the international planning cohort and circulating planning knowledge across Canada. Yet, despite their membership within the wider planning world, and the importance of such involvement to Canada’s early planning movement, the current historical narrative does not fully account for the complex nature of Canadian interactions with this wider planning cohort. This dissertation points to the necessity of applying a transnational perspective to our understanding of Canada’s modern planning history. It considers the importance of English-Canadian urban planning networking from 1910–1914, argues that these individuals were knowledgeable and selective borrowers of foreign planning information, and reassesses the role of Thomas Adams, the British expert who acted as a national planning advisor to Canada (1915–1922) and has been credited with founding Canada’s planning movement. Reevaluating his position, I argue that Adams did not introduce Canadians to modern planning. Instead his central role came through his efforts to help professionalize planning through creating the Town Planning Institute of Canada (TPIC) in 1919. As I assert, by restricting full membership to male professionals the TPIC relegated amateur planning advocates to a supporting role, devaluing the contributions of non-professionals, and, in particular, women. Through my dissertation, I demonstrate that neither Adams’ arrival, nor his departure, stopped English-Canadians from interacting with the wider planning movement. Instead, such webs of transnational planning connections stood as the common threads linking all English-Canadian planning activities between 1890 and 1930. iii Résumé Depuis la fin du XIXe siècle, un groupe divers de Canadiens anglais provenant de la bourgeoisie et de la classe moyenne se sont initiés aux principes émergents de l’urbanisme. Dans cet élan, ils ont établi des liens avec une cohorte internationale de spécialistes d’urbanisme et ont diffusé les connaissances qu’ils ont acquises sur le sujet à travers le Canada. Malgré cette adhésion au monde d’urbanisme transnational et l'influence qu’elle a exercée sur l’urbanisme moderne du Canada, l’historiographie n’aborde pas la complexité des interactions canadiennes et des échanges idéologiques avec cette cohorte internationale. Cette thèse démontre que les balbutiements de l’urbanisme moderne au Canada méritent d’être examinés dans leur contexte transnational. Nous considérons en premier lieu les individus impliqués dans le réseau d’urbanisme canadien-anglais entre les années 1910 et 1914. Ceux-ci se sont informés au sujet de l’urbanisme et ont choisi d’emprunter les éléments qu’ils ont jugés pertinents à leur cause. En deuxième lieu, nous réévaluons la contribution de Thomas Adams, l'expert britannique qui a agi comme un conseiller national d’urbanisme au Canada entre les années 1915 et 1922. Ce dernier a été reconnu comme l’architecte du mouvement d’urbanisme moderne au Canada. Nous avançons plutôt que Adams n’est pas le point de départ de ce mouvement, mais qu’il a occupé un rôle primordial dans la professionnalisation de l’urbanisme dans le cadre de la création de l'Institut canadien d’urbanisme (ICU) en 1919. En limitant l’adhésion à l’ICU aux urbanistes professionnels et masculins, cette association a relégué les amateurs à un rôle de soutien, dévalorisant ainsi les contributions des contributeurs non professionnels, et surtout, des femmes. Cette thèse démontre que l'arrivée et le départ d'Adams n’ont pas empêché l’interaction des Canadiens anglais avec le mouvement d’urbanisme internationale. Au contraire, ces réseaux iv transnationaux d’urbanisme persistent et demeurent pertinents pour toutes les activités de planification dans le Canada anglais entre 1890 et 1930. v Acknowledgements A wise colleague once told me to write my acknowledgements throughout the process of working on my dissertation instead of at the end. As she warned me, in moments when the work seems insurmountable, taking a step back to remember support that surrounds you helps to push you forward again. Although I did not put these acknowledgements to paper until the end of this work, I composed them a hundred times in my mind as I strove to finish chapters and drafts, submit articles to editors, or present at conferences. This project has left me with so many people to thank for their generosity with time, advice, friendship, and funding. Firstly, I would like to thank the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Peter Cundill Foundation, and the University of McGill for their generous funding of my coursework, research, and travel. Thanks also to the staff at the archives and libraries where I had the privilege of conducting research, particularly those at the Library and Archives Canada, the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, the Saskatchewan Archives Board, and the City of Saskatoon Archives. Although material from many of these facilities made it into this work, I also extend my thanks to the Royal Institute of British Architects’ archivists who halted their van as it left the offsite storage site and got my box on it so I could consult conference reports before I flew home; to Jennifer Garland at the Canadian Architecture Collection for talking me through the careers of Percy Nobbs and the Maxwells; to Stella Halkyard at the John Rylands Library for making Raymond Unwin’s papers available to me on short notice; and to Eamon Duffy, McGill’s liaison librarian for History and Government Information for helping me locate and cite all the planning acts I consider. To Mitali Das, Jody Anderson, Meena Mohan, Sylvia Markhauser Crawford, and Colleen Parish, thank you for your invaluable administrative assistance. I also wish to thank my supervisor, Suzanne Morton. Suzanne has moved me through the highs and lows of this project, always providing good humour and sound advice. She has been an incredible support and helped me develop into a stronger writer, researcher, and academic. I am grateful to her for all the time she spent working with me. A sincere thanks also to Shane Ewen, my host supervisor during my semester at Leeds Beckett University. I have so appreciated Shane’s encouragement of my research, and the time he has put in to reading my work. My dissertation, and time at McGill, was also enriched through the guidance and friendship of many fantastic professors. To Len Moore: thank you for your belief in me, and for always reminding me of the importance of life outside academia. To Brian Lewis: thank you for always helping me to find the bright side of this sometimes crazy process, for sharing sound advice, and for, on occasion, indulging me when I want to avoid work and talk about British politics instead. To John Zucchi, neither Amanda nor I will ever forget how much genuine fun we had during our comps year working with you. Thank you for your encouragement throughout these past years. I would also like to extend my thanks to those professors from outside McGill whose advice and guidance I was fortunate to receive. Bill Waiser (University of Saskatchewan) supervised much of my undergraduate history work and, crucially, first supported me in considering graduate studies in the field. Penny Bryden (University of Victoria) was my masters advisor. Her guidance on academic writing, and suggestions for how to approach and organize archival sources, vi continues to influence my research. Thank you to Peter Jacobs (Université de Montréal) for kindly meeting with me and answering my questions about Quebec and Montreal planning history, and to my defence committee members David Gordon (Queen’s University) and Raphaël Fischler (McGill), for sharing generously of their time and knowledge of planning history. I very much value their insightful comments, questions, and comprehensive consideration of this dissertation. This process would not have been the same without the support of those within the Ferrier office. Thank you especially to Mary Ann Poutanen and Jarrett Rudy for all the advice and conversations. To Colin Grittner, Amanda Ricci, and Matthew Wyman-McCarthy, and Daniel Simeone whose friendship and collegiality I have had the privilege of enjoying since we met in 2009 and to Colin Gilmour, François Gauthier, Rammy Saini, Peter Hynd, Rachel Sandwell, and Mary-Luise Ermisch for making campus, and Montreal, seem a kinder, happier place. To the fellow members of the Ferrier-based “Desperate to Finish” writing group, Andrew Dial, Colin Gilmour, Max Hamon, Carolynn McNally, and Sonya Roy, thank you for cheering me on through the final writing push, your comments and support have meant so much. Throughout the past years, both my academic and social life were made better by the presence of my friends. Elizabeth Della Zazzera, Anne Dance, Andrea Eidinger, Lee Blanding, Kate Martin, Sara Regnier-McKellar, Danielle Taschereau-Mamers, Samantha Morris, Lisa Pasolli, Devon Drury, and Ashley Cumming illustrated that friendships forged at UVic are the truest and strongest. Elizabeth, Anne, Andrea, Danielle, and Kate each deserve their own chapter of thanks for their endless support. Caimbria and David Lockwood and Corin Leach provided necessary friendship and encouragement both in B.C. and the U.K. Saskatonians Crystal Dyck (and her wonderful family), Alice Glaze, Monica Deschner, Carmen Landine, Caitlin Cottrell, and Maggie Gilbertson were my essential long-distance cheerleaders and helped me make the most of visits back home. The presence of friends like Joanna Rozanski, Sophie Forget, Alanna Lacroix, David Giannandrea, and Megan Bocking in Ottawa made me feel at home in Eastern Canada.