The First Cars

 Mr. E. Taylor of the Hudson’s Bay Company imported the first bicycle into Edmonton on May 21, 1890. This was the first vehicle that was not horse-drawn. The first recorded traffic accident took place in Edmonton on April 27, 1893, when 2 horse-drawn wagons collided. This mishap was the beginning of traffic congestion.

On May 25, 1904, Joe Morris drove his red two-cylinder Model A across the newly completed Low-Level Bridge that linked the separate communities of Edmonton and Strathcona, and he became the first person to drive a car in Edmonton. (The 2 communities became 1 city in 1912). Joe Morris’s horseless carriage startled horses and attracted quite a crowd. Malcolm Groat was the second person to own a car in the area. 

Windshields, license plates, and insurance were unthought-of at that time. Registering and licensing came into effect in Edmonton in 1906 for a fee of $3 per vehicle. No license plates were issued. Drivers were responsible for displaying their license number prominently on their vehicles. A variety of number tags resulted, but the most common was brass thumbtacks arranged on a piece of leather. 

The first license issued was to Joe Morris whose license number was #1. When charged with not displaying his license number, Joe Morris argued before the judge that the upright broom handle in his car represented the number one. The judge agreed, and the charges were dropped. Provincial licencing began in 1912.

A crashed car on the High-Level Bridge, 1920.

Edmonton's first automobiles driven by Joe Morris (foreground) and 

Malcolm Groat (rear) of Groat Estate.

Original story posted by Gary Dick on an internal Edmonton website.