The eldest son of John Russell, who was a brick maker and stone cutter,[1] Joseph Russell was a brick manufacturer owning the brickworks at 1308 Queen Street East at Alton Avenue.

[2] He was then nominated as an Independent candidate against incumbent Conservative MP Albert Edward Kemp in Toronto East.

Russell, by contrast, was a brick manufacturer and was praised for offering rates of pay that allowed workers to "live in houses of their own, and not herd a dozen into a room.

"[3] Russell defeated Kemp by almost 800 votes in a two man contest in the 1908 federal election.

Kemp poured his efforts into rebuilding the Conservative Party and defeated Russell three years later in the 1911 election.