William Holmes Howland

William Holmes Howland ( born June 11, 1844 in Lambton Mills ( Etobicoke ), † December 12, 1893 in Toronto ) is a Canadian businessman, social reformer and politician. Howland was from 1886 to 1887 the 25th mayor of Toronto. William Holmes Howland is the eldest son of Sir William Pearce Howland, one of the Fathers of Confederation. His younger brother Oliver Aiken Howland was also later elected mayor of Toronto.

Howland sat 1886 against the conservative candidate Alexander Henderson Manning. In his re-election a year later, he was even able to improve his election result. Howland broke during his time as mayor of Toronto with ancient traditions of the plutocracy. He was with his social reforms as a champion of the idea to create quality of life for all segments of society.