An Explosive Plot: Finding Dynamite at the Ontario Parliament Building.

• Author: Fisher, Lucas
• Position: Sketches of Parliaments and Parliamentarians

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it saved Ontario's former parliament building. In this article, the author recounts the story of how a curious boy discovered evidence used to foil one of the most serious terrorist plots in Ontario's history.

In 1884, the son of a caretaker at the old Provincial Parliament Building on Toronto's Front Street foiled one of the most brazen and audacious terrorist plots in the history of Ontario. This attempt, one that I suspect you may not have heard of, involved the placement of several parcels of dynamite in and around the parliament building. Were it not for the curious disposition of a young boy roaming the grounds, this dynamite could have levelled the Parliament Building, taking the lives of parliamentarians, civil servants, and innocent bystanders. Ensuing investigations uncovered an organization, based out of New York, that planned similar nefarious attacks across North America.

On April 30, 1884, Willie Kennedy, the son of a caretaker at the Provincial Parliament Building was roaming the precinct when he noticed a package protruding from a recess in one of the walls. Taken by his curiosity, the boy inspected the package which, he quickly discovered, contained two sticks of dynamite. Kennedy alerted his father and soon the entire precinct was being searched from top to bottom. The search eventually produced two more cartridges, found in a similar vent in the western portion of the building. A groundskeeper, John Simser, also came forward with what was thought to be part of a detonator. He had come across it while mowing the lawn.

Once the precinct had been deemed to be clear of hazards, authorities began their investigation of the near-deadly plot. Interviews with staff and potential witnesses determined that, due to the busy nature of the location where it was discovered, the dynamite must have been hidden no earlier than the night prior to its discovery. Further examination revealed that the dynamite had been primed and was ready to explode before it was seemingly abandoned. Experts later confirmed the packages contained more than enough explosives to easily level one wing of the Parliament Building, if not the whole structure. The western wing of the building, where the dynamite cartridges were found, was near the staircase that led to the Speaker's chambers, as well as the area of the building that was home to the Parliament's official records. Though not confirmed, both provided potential...