never again held political office. Provincial politics Joseph Clarke was a perennial candidate for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, running provincially five times. He first ran in the 1913 Alberta general election as a parachute candidate in the controversial Clearwater electoral district for Charles M. O'Brien's Socialist Party of Alberta. He was defeated by Liberal Henry William McKenney, the incumbent M.L.A. for Pembina. Clarke next ran in the 1917 election as an independent in Edmonton East. He finished third of four candidates - the only candidate he defeated was Sydney Keeling, of Clarke's old Socialist Party. He ran again in the 1926 Alberta general election as an independent Liberal in Edmonton district. He finished fourth of eighteen candidates on the first count, which would have been sufficient to win one of the riding's five seats under a plurality voting system; however, the district used a single transferable vote system that allowed more generally popular candidates to pass him on subsequent counts. One of the candidates to do so was David Duggan, the same businessman who had defeated Clarke in his mayoral re-election bid in 1920. Clarke's fourth attempt at provincial office took place during the 1930 election, when he sought election in Edmonton as an independent. He finished sixteenth of seventeen candidates. He was thus eliminated early in the STV vote counting process. Clarke's final provincial election was a 1937 by-election in Edmonton caused by the death of incumbent Liberal G.H. Van Allen. Clarke ran as a "People's Candidate" and was backed by the new Alberta Social Credit Party government, which did not field a candidate. He finished second, as Liberal leader Edward Leslie Gray retained the seat for his party, which was backed by the Conservatives under the so-called "Unity Movement". Clarke was mayor of Edmonton at the time of this by-election. Federal politics Clarke was a perennial candidate in Federal elections, running unsuccessfully four times. He made his first bid for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons, running as a Conservative candidate in the a 1902 by-election in the Yukon electoral district. He was defeated by James Hamilton Ross. He made his second bid while still living in the Yukon in the 1908 federal election and was once again defeated, this time by Frederick Congdon. Clarke did not make another run for federal office until 13 years later, when he ran in Edmonton East for the