Sir Henry Mill Pellatt (1859 to March 8, 1939) was a Toronto financier, electric-power promoter, and militia officer whose businesses produced the fortune behind Casa Loma and whose debts ended it in the years after the First World War. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography (DCB) dates his birth to January 6, 1859 in Kingston, the Canadian Encyclopedia to January 16. The castle is described in the separate article on Casa Loma; this page covers the man and the businesses and regiment around it.
Life in brief
| Born | January 6, 1859 (DCB) or January 16, 1859 (Canadian Encyclopedia), Kingston, Canada West |
|---|---|
| Died | March 8, 1939, Mimico (now part of Toronto) |
| Parents | Henry Pellatt Sr. and Emma Mary Holland |
| Role | Stockbroker, electric-power promoter, officer of the Queen’s Own Rifles |
| Toronto connection | Toronto Electric Light Company; Niagara power for Toronto; Queen’s Own Rifles; Casa Loma |
Early years and the brokerage
The Canadian Encyclopedia says Pellatt attended Upper Canada College, had a notable athletic career, and joined his father’s brokerage firm. He married Mary Dodgson in Toronto on June 15, 1882. They had one son, Reginald. Mary, later Lady Pellatt, died on April 15, 1924. Pellatt married a second time, to Catharine Welland Merritt, on March 12, 1927 in St. Catharines. She died on December 19, 1929.
Toronto Electric Light Company
John Joseph Wright founded the Toronto Electric Light Company in 1883, and Pellatt joined as its secretary, according to the DCB. In 1889 the company secured rights to lay underground wires and operate for 30 years, and in 1891 it paid its first dividend. Pellatt was president by 1895. The 1896 absorption of the Toronto Incandescent Electric Light Company brought in Frederic Thomas Nicholls. The DCB says William Mackenzie bought the company in 1911 and that Pellatt’s presidency ended unceremoniously in 1919.
Niagara power
The larger venture was the Electrical Development Company of Ontario (EDC). A provincial agreement was signed on January 29, 1903 and the company was incorporated that February. Pellatt became its president on March 21, 1903. Construction of the generating station at Niagara began in May 1906, and power began to flow in November 1906. The DCB records that Toronto council passed a municipal hydro by-law in January 1908 and that Toronto Hydro began operating in 1911. The Canadian Encyclopedia says his work in power ended when the province created the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario and took over many private companies. The public utility that followed is the subject of the article on Toronto Hydro. The Canadian Encyclopedia also says Pellatt was active in several transportation companies and helped organize Canadian General Electric.
Soldier and knight
Pellatt enlisted in the 2nd Battalion of Rifles, later the Queen’s Own Rifles, in 1876. The DCB gives the sequence of promotions: provisional lieutenant in 1879, lieutenant in 1880, captain in 1883, brevet major in 1893, and major in 1895. He became lieutenant-colonel and commanding officer in March 1901, colonel in 1907, and relinquished command in February 1912, with the tenure extended to April. He was made a temporary brigadier-general in July 1916, moved to the reserve in 1920, and was promoted major-general in 1921. He was knighted in 1905, the year he became honorary aide-de-camp to Governor General Lord Grey. The city’s wider military past, from the War of 1812 onward, is told in the article on Fort York.
The collapse of the 1920s
The Home Bank of Canada failed in August 1923. Pellatt’s debt to the bank stood at $2,191,732.81 CAD on November 30, 1915, according to the DCB. In 1923 he set up a holding company to give the bank control of his assets, and later that year the couple left Casa Loma for an apartment. A bank inquiry opened on April 16, 1924, the day after Lady Pellatt died, and the house’s contents were auctioned in June 1924. The City of Toronto took the property in 1933 in lieu of unpaid taxes; the City’s own history page puts the amount of back taxes at $27,303.45 CAD. That page also gives the sum Pellatt’s company owed the Home Bank as $1.7 million CAD, a different figure from the DCB’s 1915 number. The two probably describe different moments, and neither source says which year the City figure refers to.
Last years
Pellatt retired from his brokerage in 1925 and left it to his son. In 1926 he was honored at Lake Marie for 50 years with the Queen’s Own Rifles. He received the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal in 1929 and was elected president of the St. George’s Society in 1930. His sight failed, and by August 1932 he could not read. He lived in a room at the home of his former chauffeur in Mimico. His last public appearance was in January 1939. He had a military funeral at St. James’ Cathedral and was buried at Forest Lawn beside his first wife.
Where sources disagree
- Birth date: January 6 (DCB) versus January 16 (Canadian Encyclopedia).
- Place of death: Mimico (DCB) versus Toronto (Canadian Encyclopedia). The two are consistent, since Mimico is now part of the city.
- Debt to the Home Bank: $2,191,732.81 CAD on November 30, 1915 (DCB) versus $1.7 million CAD (City of Toronto page), apparently measured at different times.
Frequently asked questions
When was Sir Henry Pellatt born and when did he die?
He was born in Kingston in January 1859, on the 6th according to the DCB and the 16th according to the Canadian Encyclopedia, and died on March 8, 1939 in Mimico.
How did Henry Pellatt make his money?
Mainly through stock brokerage and electric power: the Toronto Electric Light Company and the Electrical Development Company of Ontario, which brought Niagara power to Toronto from 1906.
Why did Pellatt lose his fortune?
The DCB points to the failure of the Home Bank of Canada in August 1923, to which he owed large sums. The Canadian Encyclopedia says his work in power ended when the province took over many private companies, and the City of Toronto page adds the effect of the First World War on his land ventures.
Was Pellatt a soldier?
Yes. He joined the Queen’s Own Rifles in 1876, commanded the regiment from 1901 to 1912, and reached the rank of major-general in 1921.
Related reading
- Casa Loma, the castle Pellatt built
- Toronto Hydro and the public power that replaced private companies
- Toronto’s financial history and its banks
- Fort York and Toronto’s military heritage
- People of Toronto history
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography, “Pellatt, Sir Henry Mill,” the Dictionary of Canadian Biography
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Sir Henry Mill Pellatt”
- Casa Loma, history page (City of Toronto owned attraction)
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Sir Henry Pellatt: Financier, Power Promoter and Soldier. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/henry-pellatt
MLA: “Sir Henry Pellatt: Financier, Power Promoter and Soldier.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/henry-pellatt. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Sir Henry Pellatt: Financier, Power Promoter and Soldier.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/henry-pellatt.
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