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Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 6, 1954. Incumbent mayor Leslie Saunders was defeated by Nathan Phillips in a close contest.
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Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 6, 1954. Incumbent mayor Leslie Saunders was defeated by Nathan Phillips in a close contest.
Controller Leslie Saunders had been appointed mayor after the resignation of Allan Lamport, who left to work with the Toronto Transit Commission. He was challenged by Nathan Phillips, a longtime city councilor who had made a previous attempt to win the mayoralty. Phillips was Jewish, a sharp departure from the standard for Toronto mayors, who for decades had been Protestant Orange Order members.
Phillips' religion was an important issue in the election. Saunders publicly proclaimed he was running as "Leslie Saunders, Protestant". Saunders was a leader of the Orange Order and the publisher of the radical monthly newspaper Protestant Action. His anti-Catholicism and proclamations that Toronto was a "Protestant city" had caused controversy in the past. One of his first acts after ascending to the mayoralty was to issue an official proclamation commemorating The Twelfth, the anniversary of the victory of William of Orange over the Irish.
A second controversy arose during the election when candidate Arthur J. Brown released accusations about room 1735 in the Royal York hotel. He argued that the room was a secret entertainment suite paid for by the city for the use of the mayor. Saunders claims that it was rented by Mayor Lamport and that he was totally unaware of the suite. Nonetheless the scandal hurt his reelection bid.
Also running was former school board head Arthur Brown, who had previously come close to defeating Lamport for the job, and who had the support of the Globe and Mail newspaper. The Toronto Star and the Telegram both supported Phillips. Saunders in his memoirs accuses Brown of splitting the "Christian and Gentile vote" and getting Phillips elected. [1]
The fourth candidate was Communist A. A. MacLeod, former Labor-Progressive Party M.P.P in the Ontario legislature for Bellwoods. [2]
Saunders' appointment to the mayoralty led to the appointment of Alderman Ross Lipsett to the Board of Control. This controversially passed over former Alderman Joseph Cornish, who had finished fifth in the 1953 election. In the 1954 election, Cornish displaced Lipsett to win the fourth and final seat on the Board. The most senior two Controllers in terms of votes also sat on Metro Toronto Council.
Two aldermen were elected per Ward. The alderman with the most votes was declared Senior Alderman and sat on both Toronto City Council and Metro Council.
Phillips was chosen to become Metro Councillor.
Results are taken from the December 7, 1954 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.
Source: "East York Returns Reeve for 8th Term", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]06 Dec 1954: 1.
Source: Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]07 Dec 1954: 7.
Source: Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]07 Dec 1954: 7.
Source: "Weston, Leaside Voters To Elect 10 Councillors", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Dec 3, 1954; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: pg. 8
Election occurred on December 11.
Source: "Mrs. Marie Curtis Reeve Again By An Overwhelming Majority", Toronto Daily Star, December 13, 1954, pg 10
Election occurred on December 11.
Source: "Reeve W. Edwards Defeats Mayor Norris At Mimico", Toronto Daily Star, December 13, 1954, pg 10
Election occurred on December 11.
Source: "Mayor Strath Defeated. D. Russell Easy Winner", Toronto Daily Star, December 13, 1954, pg 10
Source: Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]07 Dec 1954: 7.
Source: Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]07 Dec 1954: 7.
Source: "Election Returns", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]06 Dec 1954: 32
Source: "Election Results", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]06 Dec 1954: 32.
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