1542 – In the Fall of 1542, a settlement was established at Cape Rouge, New France (Quebec) and provisions were in short supply. A man was executed here for the crime was theft.

1608 – The execution of the ringleader of a group who conspired to overthrow Samuel de Champlain, the founder of the first permanent settlement of Quebec.

1760 – Prior to 1760 there were 160 crimes where the penalty was execution under English law.

1800 – Under the Upper Canada Act, the number of crimes punishable by death were reduced.

1832 – The punishment of death was abolished for cattle stealing and larceny.

1832-Aug-13-notorious Windham Township (north-east of Delhi, Ontario) mass murderer Henry Sovereene was hanged in London, Ontario for the murder of his wife Mary and six of seven of his own children on 23 January 1832. Sovereene was a farmer, cobbler, and cattle entrepreneur. He had been sentenced to hang in 1828 for cattle rustling but he received a reprieve with a promise to live a better life. Sovereene went to the gallows without admitting to the murders. His words to the court when he was sentenced were: “God knows, if I die for the act, I die an innocent man.” At Sovereene’s hanging, even his lawyer John Ten Brocek yelled: “For God’s sake Sovereene, confess. Don’t die with a lie in your mouth!”

1833 – The number of crimes punishable by death were reduced to 12, murder, rape, treason, robbery, burglary, and arson being some of them.

1833-Jun-05- The Kingston Penitentiary was opened in Ontario. K.P. is still used today.

1833-Jun-13-Ontario’s last fatal duel took place at Perth. One law student killed another over the woman he later married.

1841 – When Canada West and Canada East were united, Canada West had three crimes punishable by death, and Canada East maintained a few more.

1859 - Capital punishment was enacted.

1863-Mar-18- Simcoe Ontario’s court house burned to the ground

1864-Oct-21- Simcoe Ontario’s re-built court house dedicated

1865 – Arthur B. English was born in England. He was the cousin of England’s official hangman John Ellis. Arthur English became the hangman in the Middle East and South Africa. English then became the Official Executioner for the Dominion of Canada in 1913. His pseudonym was Arthur Ellis. He officiated at 549 executions. He died in 1938 and is buried in the Mount Royal Cemetery, Quebec. Arthur Ellis continued to be the pseudonym of the Canadian Executioner until the last execution in 1962, and abolition of capital punishment in 1976.

1867-July-01 – After Confederation, the Dominion of Canada’s Department of Justice kept the record of names, dates, and places of 705 executions in Canada until the last two on December 11, 1962 at the Toronto ‘Don’ Jail. Two of the first hangings after Confederation in Ontario were John Hoag in Walkerton, and Ethan Allen in Kingston.

1868 - Public executions were not encouraged in Canada.

1869, February 11 - Patrick Whelan was hanged at the Carleton County Jail in Ottawa. Whelan was convicted for the shooting of D’Arcy McGee, a member of Parliament, and a Father of Confederation on April 07, 1868. McGee was shot in the head, at the doorway of his residence after walking home from a late night session of Parliament. This was the last public hanging in Canada.

1869 - The new Canadian government under Sir John A. MacDonald consolidated the laws, and just three offences carried the penalty of capital punishment, murder, rape, and treason.

1889-Aug-12- The boundary between Ontario and Manitoba was established.

1890 - Canada’s executioner was John Radclive (Radcliff). He held this position until 1912 when he died. His one contribution to the "science of hanging" was the construction of a gallows that had a rope go over the top beam. One end of the rope was fastened around the neck of the accused and the other end held an iron weight (350 lbs.) which was dropped thus yanking the victim off the ground and dislocating his neck, resulting in instantaneous death (a technique affectionately known as the "jerk'em up gallows").

The new technique was not a success for Radclive, as Birchall (Oxford County Jail) died of strangulation 18 minutes after the weight fell because the "drop" did not dislocate his neck. Radclive discarded his invention and went back to conventional hanging. Radclive died in Toronto in 1912 from excessive drinking after hanging 132 persons. He was one person who used his real name when acting as executioner. He used the alias of Thomas Ratley for his social life.

1892 - Between 1892 and 1962 the penalty for murders in Canada was hanging.

1913 - With the loss of Radclive in 1912, there was a need for an experienced hangman for the Dominion. Arthur English, an ex-English army officer serving in the Middle East as an executioner was unofficially approached by the Canadian government to move to Canada.

English came from a family of executioners who worked in England for almost 300 years and whose uncle was then an official hangman in England under the pseudonym of John Ellis. English accepted the offer and moved to Montreal where he took the trade name of Arthur Ellis after his uncle.

1925 – Saturday 30 May 1925, Thomas Collison was hanged at the Cornwall Jail yard for the murder of Beatrice Thorpe, 18 years old, on 23 November 1924 in Boynton, Ontario.

1928 - Section 1061(4) of the Criminal Code prohibited the use of corporal punishment on females. Section 1071 of the Criminal Code provided that, “the body of every offender executed shall be buried within the walls of the prison within which judgment of death is executed on him.”

1935 - Ellis’ last hanging was done at the famous Bordeaux Jail in Montreal on 28 March 1935. Ellis had been called to Montreal to execute Leon Gagliardi, Angelo Donafrie and Mrs. Thomasina Sarao after they were found guilty of killing Nicholas Sarao in an intricate insurance scam.

Ellis was now 71 years old and had either assisted at or performed over 600 executions throughout his career in England, the Middle East and Canada. He was a master at his trade, yet this hanging would be his last because of a disastrous set of events that had him boycotted from further hangings. It seems that when Ellis went to weigh Mrs. Sarao at the Women's Jail he was not permitted access and had to be satisfied with the weight handed to him on a piece of paper. Based on the weight given to him Ellis calculated the length of rope needed to break Mrs. Sarao's neck.

On the morning of the hanging Mrs. Sarao walked to the gallows some 32 pounds heavier than what had been scratched on the piece of paper and when she plunged to her death the extra weight supplied enough force to decapitate her. It was not the first execution in which Ellis had miscalculated the condemned person’s weight.

On August 25, 1926, Ellis was called to carry out the execution of 240 pound Dan Prockiw at Headingly Jail. Prockiw, a former real-estate owner in Winnipeg, had been convicted of the March 18th beating death of his common-law wife, Annie Cardno. The drop was too much for Prockiw’s heavy body and the result was it jerked his head right off his body.

However because it was a woman that was decapitated, the execution of Mrs. Sarao marked the end of Ellis' 22-year career as Canada's "Official" Hangman and it effectively ended the practice of allowing the public to attend hangings. Ellis died three years later in his hotel room in Montreal. Although open public hangings were discontinued since about 1869, members of the public could still acquire a pass to attend a hanging inside the jail walls.

1937 - A Parliamentary Commission studied the ways of execution, hanging versus gas.

1938 - Arthur English (Ellis) died in Montreal. Although there were several people employed from time to time as hangmen, there were two prominent hangmen who succeeded Arthur Ellis before capital punishment was finally abolished. One adopted the trade name of "Ellis" and the other was "Carmile" Branchaud. They worked in almost complete anonymity and between them executed the last 180 persons to go to the gallows in Canada

1953 - The last woman to be hanged in Canada was Marguerite Pitre.

1954 – Again a Parliamentary Commission studied corporal punishment, and different methods of capital punishment, hanging, electric chair, gassing, or lethal injection.

1961-September-01 – The Criminal Code was changed to distinguish between capital and non-capital murder. Capital murder was murder that was planned and deliberate, committed during the course of certain crimes of violence, and the murder of a police officer or prison warden acting in the course of their duty. Only capital murder carried the death penalty.

1967-November-30 – The Criminal Code was again changed for a five year experimental period so that capital punishment was only to be used for the murder of police officers and prison guards.

1973-January-26 – The partial ban was extended.

1976-July-14 - The death penalty in Canada was formally abolished by the Trudeau government by a vote of 131 to 124 in the Canadian Parliament. Exceptions of some offences under the National Defense Act remained for a few more years.

1987-June-30 - a vote in the House of Commons under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney  reaffirmed the abolition of the death penalty. Members voted 148 to 127 in favour of not reinstating capital punishment.

Executions in Ontario

Algoma District Jail (Sault Ste. Marie, ON)

There were 4 hangings at the Algoma District Jail. The jail was closed in 2003.
1902-02-07 – Frederick (Shultz) Lindsley – murdered Mrs. Craig (wife)
1948-01-21 – Edgar James Simons – 19 years – raped Katherine Rupert
1948-12-16 – Richard Rivard – 21 years – raped Mary Rivers
1958-07-15 – Fred Montgomery – 42 years – murdered Walter Bridges (robbery)

Brant County Jail (Brantford, ON)

There were 8 persons hanged at the Brant County Jail:
1880-06-11 – Benjamin Carrier – murdered Nancy Carrier (wife)
1905-12-15 – Joseph Bennett – 33 years – raped Betsy Jacobs
1914-01-23 – James Taylor – murdered Charles Dawson (13)
1918-02-06 – Carmelo Calleja – murdered Gio Batta Bunello
1920-12-02 – George Jones – 25 years – murdered Elizabeth Giles
1922-11-24 – Harry Dent – 46 years – murdered Peter Egoian
1930-11-28 – Kung Wong (Bob Wong) – 28 years – murdered George Lem
1932-12-08 – Joseph Bomberry – 38 years – murdered Elizabeth John (wife)

Bruce County Jail (Walkerton, ON)

There were 2 persons hanged at the Bruce County Jail.
1868-12-01 – John Hoag –
1946-06-05 – Neil Nashkawa – 23 years – murdered Walter Lavallee (jealousy)

Carleton County Jail (Ottawa, ON)
There were 3 hangings at this jail. The third was in 1869, February 11 – Patrick Whelan. Whelan was convicted for the shooting of D’Arcy McGee, a member of Parliament, and a Father of Confederation on April 07, 1868. McGee was shot in the head, at the doorway of his residence after walking home from a late night session of Parliament.

1869-02-11 – Patrick James Whalen – assassinated Thomas D’Arcy McGee.
1933-01-10 – William George Seabrooke – 22 years – murdered Paul Lavigne (robbery)
1946-03-27 – Eugene Larment – 24 years – murdered T. Stoneman (policeman)

Elgin County Jail (St. Thomas, ON)

There were 4 hangings in the Elgin County Jail yard.
1895-06-18 – John A. Hendershott – murdered William Hendershott (nephew)
1895-06-18 – William D. Welter – murdered William Hendershott
1935-06-27 – Frank Temple (father) – 53 years – murdered Colin McGregor (policeman)
1935-06-27 – Fred Temple (son) – 21 years – murdered Colin McGregor (policeman)

Essex County Jail (Sandwich/Windsor, ON)

There have been five jails since 1796. There were 8 hangings at these jails.
1869-06-08 – Bush Curtley – murdered Oliver Minar
1877-05-22 – Austin Humphrey – murdered Frederick Appel
1884-06-17 – Luke Phipps – murdered his wife
1894-12-14 – Joseph Truskey –
1900-02-06 – Levi Stewart – murdered James Ross (robbery)
1933-12-06 – Peter Melvin Beyak – 32 years – murdered Jessie Nehbereski (wife)
1943-08-24 – Bruno Kisielewski – 21 years – murdered Guiseppi Borg (robbery)
1943-08-24 – Stefan Alexander Ogrodowski – 26 years – murdered Guiseppi Borg (robbery)

Frontenac County Jail (Kingston, ON)
Among the ghoulish retellings is the story of the public hangings that took place a century or so ago at the Frontenac County Courthouse and Jail. The executioner was so busy that Kingston quickly began attracting tourists from all around the lake to witness the grisly justice being meted out.

The executed were buried on the premises, but when the jail was moved, some say not all of the bodies went with it. There is one tale of a mysterious man with a strange piece of neckwear. Local inhabitants claim to have seen this poor soul, with a noose still
around his neck, always leaning up against the same area of a wall at the old courthouse.

In 1976 when construction took place on that same wall, a crude coffin with a skeletal corpse was discovered. Local historians suspect the man may have been the victim of an unauthorized jailhouse execution. Kinder souls gave the remains a proper burial and the
ghostly presence of the "noose man" soon disappeared.

There were 6 persons hanged at the Frontenac County Jail:
1867-12-11 – Ethan Allen – murdered Cornelius Driscoll
1870-12-14 – James Deacon –
1870-12-14 – Daniel Manitoban – 38 years – murdered Henry Trail (K.P. Guard)
1881-06-01 – Elijah Van Koughnet –
1927-04-21 – Thomas McCoskey (Max. Vochitz) – 42 years – murdered Jenkins (K.P. Guard)
1949-01-24 – Austin Craft – 44 years – murdered J. Kennedy (K.P. Guard)

Grey County Jail (Owen Sound, ON)

There have been 3 hangings at the Grey County Jail:
1884-12-05 – Cook Teets –
1913-05-27 – Charles Henry Love – murdered Hannah Love (wife)
1948-02-04 – Frederick Thomas Langton Bussey – 23 years – raped Betty Playford (11)

Haldimand County Jail (Cayuga, ON)

There was 1 person hanged at the Haldimand County Jail. The jail closed in 1972.
1876-09-22 – John Young – murdered Abel McDonald (robbery)

Halton County Jail (Milton, ON)

There was 1 person hanged at the Halton County Jail. The jail closed in 1972.
1883-01-05 – Michael O’Rourke – murdered Edward Maker

Hastings County Jail (Belleville, ON)

There were 4 persons hanged at the Hastings County Jail. The jail closed in 1972.
1890-06-20 – Peter Edwin Davis –
1891-05-21 – James Kane –
1935-05-02 – Harold W. Vermilyea – 49 years – murdered Aurelia Vermilyea (mother)
1941-01-14 – Frederick Thain – 49 years – murdered Mr. & Mrs. Wellman (robbery)

Huron County Jail (Goderich, ON)

There were 2 persons hanged at the Huron County Jail. The jail closed in 1972.
1869-12-07 – Nicholas Melady – murdered his father and step-mother
1911-06-11 – Edward Jardine – murdered Lizzie Anderson (17)

Kenora District Jail (Kenora, ON)

There were 5 persons hanged at the Kenora District Jail.
1908-09-18 – William Paul – murdered Heinrich Stelling (robbery)
1909-01-20 – George Frederick Johnston – 24 years – murdered Ella Acker (Manitoba)
1916-12-29 – John Wapioke – murdered Anna & Herna Hubner
1923-06-13 – Metro (Mike) Wiksych – murdered Wasyl Podbecki
1959-06-30 – Thomas Young – 27 years – murdered five people

Kent County Jail (Chatham, ON)

There was 1 person hanged at the Kent County Jail.
1930-12-23 – Francis Vandevelde – 56 years – murdered Joel Kamoen

Lambton County Jail (Sarnia, ON)

There were 2 persons hanged at the Lambton County Jail. There have been two County Jails, the first one closed in 1965, and the second one was opened.
1873-06-19 – Elizabeth Workman – murdered James Workman (husband)
1941-01-03 – Stephen Kiyoshk – 49 years – murdered Jerry Blackbird

Lanark County Jail (Perth, ON)

There was 1 hanging at the Lanark County Jail. The jail closed in 1992.
1910-12-14 – Rufus Weedmark – 44 years – murdered Mrs. Weedmark (wife)

Leeds & Grenville County Jail (Brockville, ON)

There was 1 person hanged at the Leeds & Grenville County Jail:
1893-12-14 – Charles Sandford Luckey, murdered Mary Ann Luckey (sister)

Lincoln County Jail (St. Catharines, ON)

There was 1 hanging at the Lincoln County Jail. The jail closed in 1972.
1947-12-16 – Sidney George Chambers – 34 years – murdered Marion Rusnok (9)

Middlesex County Jail (London, ON)
Women in Canada have seldom encountered the hangman, only eleven have been executed since Confederation. The first execution of a woman after confederation was that of Phoebe Campbell in London, Ontario, on June 20, 1872. Phoebe, although married, had fallen in love with a young farmhand named Thomas Coyle. Her love for Thomas was so strong that she would do anything, including murder, to be with him. On July 14, 1871, Phoebe could no longer stand being away from her love so she took an axe and chopped up her husband, George, until he expired. Initially Phoebe claimed that it was two black men who had done the dirty deed, but later admitted the offence and went to the gallows.

Marion “Peg Leg” Brown was convicted of murdering a London police officer and was executed in the jail in May of 1899 by hanging. Aside from the legend that grass refused to grow over his former gravesite in the yard (now a parking lot and Peg Leg’s remains now rest in St. Paul’s Anglican Church yard). Peg Leg’s ghost is now said to haunt the cells of the old jail.

Peg Leg’s wooden leg and Stetson hay are on display at the Lawson Museum.

There have been 11 persons hanged at the Middlesex County Jail. The jail closed in 1972.
1868-12-29 – Thomas Jones – murdered Mary Jone (niece, 12)
1871-12-28 – Cyrus Pickard – 20 years – murdered Duncan McVannell
1872-06-20 – Phoebe Campbell – murdered George Campbell (husband)
1885-11-27 – Benjamin Simmonds – murdered Mary Ann Stokes
1890-06-14 – Henry Smith – murdered Lucy Smith (wife)
1899-05-17 – Marion ‘Peg Leg’ Brown – murdered Michael Toohey (policeman)
1924-04-10 – Sidney Ernest Murrell – 26 years – murdered Russell Campbell (robbery)
1924-04-10 – Clarence Topping – 23 years – murdered Geraldine Durston (lover)
1932-04-26 – Wallace Ramesbottom – 18 years – murdered Samuel Weinstein (robbery)
1932-04-26 – Henry Quinn – 36 years – murdered Samuel Weinstein (robbery)
1951-06-05 – Walter George Rowe – 29 years – murdered Clare Galbraith

Muskoka District Gaol (Bracebridge, ON)

There were 2 hangings at this jail before it closed in 1946.
On 15 Sep 1896 William James Hammond, 22 years, of Gravenhurst was hanged for the poison murder of his wife Katie Tough. He was buried in the jail yard, but later was relocated to Gravenhurst.
On 17 May 1922 George Cyr, 27 years, of Chaffey Township was hanged for the gun shot murder of farm labourer George Wethers. After the conviction of Cyr for the first murder, the murder charge of Mrs Lena Solave was not proceeded with, nor the attempt murder charge of her husband Andrew Solave.

Norfolk County Jail (Simcoe, ON)

There were 3 hangings at the Norfolk County Jail before it closed in 1972.
1915-12-18 – Emerson D. Shelley – 21 years – murdered Christian Schoup (robbery)
1950-12-19 – Joseph Herbert McAuliffe – 32 years – murdered two policemen
1955-03-02 – Jerry Simmons (Homer Ames) – 48 years – murdered Mr. & Mrs. Beatty (robbery)

Nipissing District Jail (North Bay, ON)

There were 5 hangings at the Nipissing District Jail:
1909-06-03 – Maurice Ryan – murdered Joseph Ryan (brother)
1909-11-26 – Sam Spinella – murdered Gee Ming You
1910-06-21 – Walter Ross – murdered Percy Parkinson
1919-05-02 – Charles Cooper – 36 years – murdered Theodore Taylor
1954-02-09 – Mervyn James Hutson – 29 years – raped Susan Hutchins (3)

Ontario County Jail (Whitby, ON)

There were 2 hangings at the Ontario County Jail. The Whitby Jail closed in 2003.
1910-07-13 – Archibald McLaughlin – 27 years – murdered Mrs McLaughlin (wife)
1946-12-10 – George Bilton – 26 years – murdered his mistress & her daughter

Oxford County Jail (Woodstock, ON)
Thomas Cook was hanged in 1860 for the murder of his wife. A mask of his face adorns the archway around the front door of this jail in Woodstock, it is the only Ontario jail adorned in such a way.
Thomas Cook Death Mask
Convicted of murdering his wife, as equally combative and alcoholic as he, he was as notorious in death as in life, for, at Tom's appointment with eternity in 1862, the hangman miscalculated and, with the drop, removed his head, which rolled toward the crowd, much to its gothic horror, and secret satisfaction.
Location: Set in the stonework beside the 410 Buller St. door to the old Oxford County Gaol (Woodstock)

Reginald Birchall was hanged on 14 November 1890 for the murder of Frederick Benwell
Frederick Benwell, 1865-1890
Commemorates the young victim of Oxford's most infamous murderer, Reginald Birchall, himself buried in the grounds of the old County Gaol, Buller St., Woodstock. The Norwich & District Archives and Woodstock Museum have a variety of original documents testifying to his notoriety, such as his maintenance expense statement while in the Gaol.
Location: Princeton Cemetery, HWY 2 / County Road 3 (Blandford-Blenheim)

There were 4 hangings at the Oxford County Jail since 1867, and at least 1 before Confederation. The jail closed in 1972.
1890-11-14 – John Reginald (Somerset) Birchall – 24 years – murdered Frederick Benwell
1921-06-02 – Jerome Garfield – 25 years – murdered Ben Johnston (robbery)
1935-12-17 – Elizabeth Ann Tilford – 50 years – murdered Tyrrell Tilford (husband)
1954-11-16 – Velibor Rajic – 37 years – murdered Florence Irene Boyd

Parry Sound District Jail (Parry Sound, ON)

There were 3 hangings at the Parry Sound District Jail before it closed in 2002.
1916—2-02 – Arthur Richard Cassan – 32 years – murdered James DeGeorge (robbery)
1928-12-21 – John Burowski – 37 years – murdered Thomas Jackson
1960-02-09 – Marvin McKee – 20 years – murdered two men (robbery)

Peel County Jail (Brampton, ON)

3 hangings occurred in this jail between 1909 and 1946.
On 11 Feb 1909 Stefan Swyryda was hanged for the murder of a young Polish man Olak Loutick in 1908.
On 23 Jan 1941 Gordon Russ Matthew, 21 years, was hanged for the murder of his wife Ethel Matthew.
On 12 Feb 1946 Walter Zabolotny, 23 years, met his maker for the murder of Mrs. Alice M. Campbell during a robbery.

Perth County Jail (Stratford, ON)

There were 3 hangings at the Perth County Jail.
1895-05-31 – Amedee Chatelle – murdered Jessie Keith (13)
1909-06-28 – Frank Roughmond – 34 years – raped Mary Peake
1954-02-16 – Henry Reuben – 27 years – murdered Jean Marie Satchell

Peterborough County Jail (Peterborough, ON)
In 1920 two members of the ‘Russian Gang’ were hanged, Michael Bahri and Tom Konek. Archaeological excavations in the Peterborough, Ontario jail led to the recovery of the skeletons of four murderers hanged there between 1873 and 1933. Full analyses were conducted to identify each individual and to document the effects of hanging. A combination of archival, archaeological, and biological data permitted the identifications, though not without some difficulties. Race was particularly problematic. The hangings, all of which used the "long drop", created fractures in three of the individuals. Affected elements included Cl, C2, C3, the hyoid, and the occipital bone. Also, analysis of the cervical vertebrae while they were still held in position by adhering soil revealed dislocations at C1/C2 or C2/C3 in three felons. The study supports the findings of other recent studies of hangings, indicating some variability in its effects and in the precise cause of death.

There were 5 hangings at the Peterborough County Jail. The jail closed in 1998.
1873-12-26 – James Fox (William Brenton – murdered Jane Payne
1910-06-23 – Robert Henderson – 17 years – murdered Margaret McPherson
1920-01-14 – Thomas Korncheck – murdered Philip Yanoff (robbery)
1920-01-14 – Michael Bahri – murdered Philip Yanoff (robbery)
1933-11-29 – Edward Franklin Jackson – 42 years – murdered Eugene Lee

Prescott & Russell County Jail (L’Original, ON)

There were 5 hangings at the Prescott & Russell County Jail. The jail closed in 1998.
1883-10-12 – Frederick Manitoban – murdered the Cooke family
1891-06-04 – Narcisse Laroc – raped two girls (12 & 13)
1904-04-28 – Clement Goyette – murdered Daniel & Thomas Colligan
1933-03-15 – William J. Laroc – 57 years – murdered Leo Bergeron (insurance)
1933-03-15 – Emanuel Lavictoire – 51 years – murdered Leo Bergeron (insurance)

Prince Edward County Jail (Picton, ON)

There were 2 hangings at the Prince Edward County Jail. It was closed in 1972.
1884-06-10 – George Lowder – murdered Lazier
1884-06-10 – Joseph Thomset – murdered Lazier

Rainy River District Jail (Fort Frances, ON)

There were 6 persons hanged at the Rainy River Jail:
A triple hanging took place here in 1945 for the robbery and murder of Viola Jamieson in her house during a robbery. Viola was burned repeatedly on her stove as the four robbers tried to get her to tell them where her money was. The fourth robber was sentenced to penitentiary due to his young age.
1931-09-18 – Lauri Neil – 27 years – murdered Alexander Neil (father)
1936-08-24 – John Gulka – 41 years – murdered Mary Gulka (wife)
1942-10-10 – Edward Roy Kolesar – 20 years – murdered John Kolesar (father)
1945-03-01 – William Schmidt – 29 years – murdered Viola Jamieson (robbery)
1945-03-01 – Anthony Skrypnyk – 23 years – murdered Viola Jamieson (robbery)
1945-03-01 – George Skrypnyk – 27 years – murdered Viola Jamieson (robbery)

Renfrew County Jail (Pembroke, ON)

There were 4 hangings at the Renfrew County Jail. The jail was closed in 2003.
1873-12-27 – Desire Auger – murdered Anne Lukovitch
1873-12-27 – Joseph Osia – murdered Anne Lukovitch
1887-06-06 – David Goglein – murdered Winnie Wiechenthal
1952-01-08 – Lloyd Robert Wyse – 34 years – murdered Lloyd Barber (robbery)

Simcoe County Jail (Barrie, ON)

The following 5 persons were hanged at the Simcoe County Jail:
1873-06-11 – James Carruther – murdered his wife
1873-12-30 – John Tryon (son) – 47 years – murdered Francis Fisher
1929-01-04 – George O’Neil – 47 years – murdered Azor Martin Robertson
1932-01-16 – Thomas Wesley Campbell – 54 years – killed William Campbell (father)
1945-12-20 – Lloyd Wellington Simcoe – 18 years – murdered Freeman Walker

Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry County Jail (Cornwall, ON)

There were 5 persons hanged at the Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry Jail:
1879-10-31 – Clark Brown – murdered Robert Brown (father)
1892-12-16 – James Slavin – murdered Davey (policeman)
1919-03-28 – John (Ivan) Wegrynuck – murdered Worze Tomaszewski
1925-05-29 – Thomas Collison – 29 years – murdered Beatrice Thorpe
1954-05-25 – Peter Balcombe – 24 years – murdered Marie-Anne Carrier

Sudbury District Jail (Sudbury, ON)

There were 7 hangings at the Sudbury District Jail.
1916-06-02 – Wasyl Dejbuck – murdered Mary Kurhanewich
1921-01-10 – Joseph Arthur Currie – 30 years – murdered Michael Donohue (robbery)
1929-12-12 – Peter Myhal – 40 years – murdered Rose Karas (ex-wife)
1938-01-22 – Tom Pornomarenko (Harry Shoke) – 48 years – murdered Fred Davidson (policeman)
1945-01-09 – Alpha Proulx – 26 years – murdered Joseph Dennie (robbery)
1951-05-22 – Adelard (Eddie) Latour – 49 years – murdered Cecile Rainville
1956-06-15 – Robert Bruce Ducsharm – 24 years – murdered Steve Klapouschak

Temiskaming District Jail (Haileybury, ON)

There were 9 persons hanged at the Temiskaming District Jail. The jail closed in 1998.
1929-07-19 – John Ivanchuk – 42 years – murdered T. Constable (policeman)
1932-06-10 – Mike Skakoon – 29 years – murdered Bernice Leach (lover)
1933-06-21 – William Antonowicz – 34 years – murdered two women
1937-01-08 – John Wah – 56 years – murdered Woon Hong
1938-01-25 – Frank Dolan – 33 years – murdered Leona Dolan (wife)
1943-11-30 – Wilfred Desroches – 23 years – murdered Alfreda April
1948-01-14 – John Gagne – 26 years – murdered Robert Todd (robbery)
1949-06-15 – Romeo Brassard – 37 years – murdered Marie Brassard (wife)
1961-06-13 – Owen Maxwell Feener – 23 years – murdered Kathleen Chouinor
(girlfriend)

Thunder Bay District Jail ( formerly Port Arthur, ON)

There were 6 hangings at the Thunder Bay Jail, previously known as the Port Arthur Jail.
1899-03-17 – Prevost, Oliver – murdered Carrier R. D’Aubigne in 1898
1915-06-30 – Amelia Palma – murdered William Leightanan
1923-01-15 – Frederick Baldwin – 33 years – murdered Robert Moulton
1937-01-05 – Gordon Bliss – 28 years – raped Susan Johnson
1948-01-08 – Charles Georges Martin – 35 years – murdered two men (robbery)
1953-04-28 – Gregor Hladiy – 33 years – murdered Joseph Panok

Toronto ‘Don’ Jail
The last two executions in Canada were Arthur Lucas (#709) for shooting a Toronto Police Constable and Robert Turpin (#710) for the killings of a prostitute and pimp. They stood back to back, and were executed at two minutes after midnight on 11 Dec. 1962. A small group of vocal protesters has gathered outside the Toronto ‘Don’ Jail. Both were arrested, tried and executed in less than l4 months.

Both were represented by the same defence counsel, Ross MacKay, who was devastated by the executions. Author Jack Batten says of him that, before "... he was a heavy drinker. Afterwards, he was an alcoholic. He lost his family, his practice, his money." Although he was able, years later, to rebuild his life and his career, he was one of the indirect victims of these cases.

Chief Justice James McRurer, who sentenced Lucas and many others to death, later commented that "There was one good thing about Lucas' hanging. It was the last. Parliament ended the death penalty, and sentencing a man to hang is one part of the administration of justice that judges need have no fear of now."

There were 34 persons hanged at the Toronto ‘Don’ Jail. There have been four York County or Toronto Jails since 1800.
1872-02-22 – John Traviss – 20 years – murdered John Johnson
1877-11-30 – John Williams – murdered Ann Williams (wife)
1880-07-23 – George (Dickson) Bennett – murdered George Brown
1888-02-18 – Robert Neil – 19 years – murdered John Rutlidge (prison guard)
1890-02-12 – Thomas Kane – murdered Mary Kane
1900-04-14 – William Henry – murdered John Varco (robbery)
1902-07-18 – Fred Lee Rice – murdered William Boyd
1905-03-10 – Alexander Martin - 22 years – murdered  baby sons (7 months old)
1908-01-08 – John Boyd – murdered E.A. Wandle
1909-12-23 – Poral Steffoff – murdered Simoff
1910-06-10 – Pasquale Ventricini – 45 years – murdered Raffael Fabbio
1915-04-13 – Jan Ziolko – 31 years – murdered Tony Trendo (robbery)
1919-01-03 – Hassen Neby – murdered George H. Tucker
1919-06-13 – Frank McCullough – murdered Frank Williams (policeman)
1921-08-03 – Roy Hotrum (Patsy Lewis) – 21 years – murdered Leonard Sabine (robbery)
1921-08-03 – William McFadden – 33 years – murdered Leonard Sabine (robbery)
1922-05-09 – Frederick (Danis) Davis – 46 years – raped Philip Goldberg (age 8)
1930-03-24 – Edward Stewart – 33 years – murdered John Freeland (robbery)
1931-07-14 – Abraham Steinberg – 50 years – murdered Samuel Goldberg
1931-09-23 – John Brockenshire – 22 years – murdered Roy McQuillin (policeman)
1933-02-03 – Ewart G. Warren – 26 years – murdered William Moore (robbery)
1933-04-03 – Mike Tach (Michael Tkach) – 30 years – murdered Fannie Robulock
1936-05-05 – Harry O’Donnell – 25 years – raped Ruth Taylor
1938-06-30 – Thomas (Louis) Bryans – 38 years – murdered Norman Ford
1939-10-04 – Bill Petrekowich – 29 years – murdered Annie Gerozenic (ex-wife)
1940-07-03 – Joseph Dlugos – 41 years – murdered Annie Mysian
1942-02-12 – Hugh Alex. William Newell – 27 years – murdered Aune Paalov (wife)
1948-06-29 – Leslie Robert Davidson – 29 years – murdered Margaret Meredith (wife)
1952-12-16 – Leonard Jackson (Fred Wilson) – 30 years – murdered Edmund Tong (policeman)
1952-12-16 – Valent Lesso (Lenoff Suchan) – 24 years – murdered Edmund Tong (policeman)
1956-11-21 – Robert George Fitton – 22 years – raped Linda Lampkin (13)
1961-06-27 – Louis William Baldwin Fisher – 24 years – raped Peggy Bennett
1962-12-11 – Arthur Lucas – 54 years – murdered Thomas Crater & Carol Newman
1962-12-11 – Ronald Turpin – 29 years – murdered Frederick Nash (policeman)

Victoria County Jail (Lindsay, ON)

There were 2 persons hanged at the Victoria County Jail. The jail was closed in 2003.
1873-12-22 – David E. Nesbitt – murdered Sarah Alice Hapwood
1924-12-05 – Frederick William McGaughey – murdered Lillian Beatrice Fee

Waterloo County Jail (Berlin/Kitchener, ON)

There were 3 persons hanged at the Waterloo County Jail. The jail was closed in 1972.
1898-02-04 – James Allison – 18 years – murdered Emma Orr
1920-01-26 – Stockyo Boyeff – murdered John Sorokaty
1940-04-25 – Reginald White – 35 years – murdered John & Annie Milroy

Welland County Jail (Welland, ON)

There have been 9 persons hanged at the Welland County Jail. The jail closed in 1972.
1890-12-18 – Arthur Hoyt Day – murdered his wife
1924-05-08 – William Camfield – 27 years – murdered George Morningstar
1931-05-15 – Joe Kovak (Kovach) – 46 years – murdered Fred McNicoll (policeman)
1931-12-30 – Nick Kozub – 40 years – murdered Peter & Mary Holochuk
1939-12-18 – Stewart Nighswander – 25 years – murdered Henry Doto (age 12)
1946-12-05 – Elizabeth Popovitch – 38 years – murdered Louis Nato (robbery)
1946-12-05 – George Popovitch – 45 years – murdered Louis Nato (robbery)
1949-12-07 – John William Christian – 27 years – murdered Jacob Koabel (robbery)
1958-01-17 – Thomas Arthur Laplante – 22 years – murdered Edwin Matthew Jones

Wellington County Jail (Guelph, ON)

There were 3 hangings at the Wellington County Jail. The jail closed in 1972.
1875-12-23 – Henry White – murdered Susannah White (wife)
1889-11-29 – William H Harvey – murdered Mathilda Harvey (wife)
1919-08-22 – James Giovanezzi – 24 years – murdered Alex Dutky

Wentworth County Jail (Hamilton, ON)

There were 8 persons hanged at the Wentworth County Jail.
1876-03-14 – Michael McConnell – murdered Nelson Mills
1899-06-23 – Benjamin Parrott – 30 years – murdered Bridget Parrott (mother)
1900-12-07 – George Arthur Pearson – 20 years – murdered Annie Griffin
1907-12-27 – Jacob Sunfield – murdered Andrew Radzik
1919-12-19 – Paul Kowalski – murdered Ignace Trembluk (robbery)
1927-01-12 – John Barty – 50 years – murdered Nancy Cook (robbery)
1930-07-08 – Mike Smith – 46 years – murdered John Iwanetz (robbery)
1953-02-03 – Harry Lee – 37 years – murdered Mary Rosenblatt

Canadian Hangmen (not complete)

Robert Hodson – 1874, a former assistant to English hangman Mr. Calcraft.

Jack Henderson - 1885

John Radcliffe (Radclive) – 1890-1912

Arthur English (Ellis) – 1913-1938 – ‘Official Executioner to the Dominion of Canada’

Arthur Ellis

“Carmile” Branchaud

John Ellis (last official Canadian Hangman) was on payroll into the 1980s, and lived in the Bahamas.

BC Penitentiary (BC)
Although this was a Federal facility, there was one execution here. Prisoner Joseph Smith killed guard J.H. Joynson in 1912 and was executed January 31, 1913.

Carleton County Jail (Woodstock, NB)
Built in 1901, and located in Woodstock, New Brunswick. It was in use until 1993. Three hangings took place in the yard of this jail: George Gee in 1904, Thomas Cammack in 1905, and Benny Swim in 1922. The hanging of Mr. Swim created a scandal as he had to be hanged twice.

Charlotte County Jail (St. Stephen, NB)
Dowd – hanged 14 January 1879.

Oakalla Prison Farm (Burnaby, BC)
Provincial prison. There were 44 executions there between 1912-1991. The first execution was that of 25 year-old Alex Ignace on August 29, 1919. Leo Mantha was the last prisoner executed, on April 28, 1959. In 1936 there were several double and even one triple hangings.

St. John County Jail (St. John, NB)
Located in New Brunswick. Hangings were public spectacles in 1829, but this practice ceased with the execution of Patrick Slavin on December 11, 1857 for murdering the MacKenzie family of the Parish of Simonds.

Victoria County Jail (Perth-Andover, NB)
Built in 1878, this building was a county jail that saw hangings.