 He was a city alderman twice, and was elected the 1926 Calgary municipal election the twenty-third mayor of Calgary and served from 1927 to 1929.Osborne also held leadership roles at many of Calgary's business, service, and social organizations.He was president and district governor of the Calgary Rotary Club from 1921 to 1922, president of the Calgary Board of Trade in 1925, and a member of the board of governors of the University of Alberta from 1923 to 1942.