James Lindala

James Lindala (May 11, 1860 — March 23, 1917) was a Finnish-Canadian socialist and was the first Finnish settler in Toronto.

[1] Lindala was born in the village of Vähäkyrö, Grand Duchy of Finland in 1860 and apprenticed as a tailor in Vaasa.

Lindala also owned a community sauna and travel agency, and his wife ran a grocery store specialising in Finnish products.

Lindala ran on a platform of abolishing wage slavery and advocting collective ownership of lands and machinery.

The strong result by Lindala caused a stir in the press with The Globe wondering how "an unknown Socialist tailor of foreign birth should poll over eight thousand votes.