page_title: Charles May (Canadian politician)
section_title: Early life and career
hierarchical_section_title: Charles May (Canadian politician) / Early life and career
caption_attribution_description: English: The Canadian Northern Railway's Manitoba Hotel, in Winnipeg
context_page_description: Charles May was Canadian contractor and politician. He served on the Edmonton City Council and later as Mayor of Edmonton from 1905 to 1906.
  A native of what would become the province of Ontario, May moved to Manitoba soon after completing education in his hometown. In Manitoba, he would take to briefly farming, before entering into the construction industry, which he would establish prominence in. After doing work for the railway, he would move to Winnipeg where he would join a contracting firm and become involved in the construction of many buildings. After moving west and living briefly in Carberry, Manitoba, May came to Edmonton in 1902.
  In Edmonton he would rise to be one of the city's most prominent contractors, constructing many of the city's landmark buildings, as well as houses for its prominent residents. Long interested in municipal affairs, he entered civic politics with his election to the Edmonton Town Council in 1903. After an aldermanic term that saw the inclusion of Alberta as a province in Canada, in 1905 he was elected as mayor of the newly incorporated city; during his term he would oversee many improvements and advances to the city.
context_section_description: May was born in Wellington County, Canada West in 1858, to John and Helen (née Esson) May. Both of his parents were immigrants who had come to Canada early in their lives, his father originally from County Londonderry, Ireland, was a veteran of the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion, and his mother a native of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Charles attended and completed public schooling in Wellington County, and around 1871 the May family relocated to Paisley, Ontario. Upon the death of his father shortly thereafter, May was tasked with the responsibilities of heading and providing for his family, along with a brother, Thomas.
  In 1880, after the closing of his father's estate and sale his father's property, he moved west to homestead and farm at Manitoba, in the Little Saskatchewan district, near Minnedosa. A few years later, he had come to the realization that farming was not an efficient means of business for him; his farm had been situated in an area that was so far removed from a town that travel to deliver his products had been cumbersome. He then gained employment as a carpenter and builder with the Manitoba and North Western Railway, where he was tasked with building rail bridges and stations. He would later move to Winnipeg where he continued working in his field. He would join the contracting firm of Murray & McDermot, serving as foreman on various projects, including the building of the Manitoba Hotel. After some 13 years, he went to Carberry, Manitoba where he continued contracting, this time also entering the furniture business. In 1902, he would also be involved in the construction of the Union Bank building there.
caption: The Manitoba Hotel in Winnipeg, prior to its destruction in an 1899 fire
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