Municipal elections were held in Toronto , Ontario, Canada, on December 5, 1955. Incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips, elected a year earlier, was easily reelected.
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the most populous city in Canada, with a population of 2,731,571 in 2016. Current to 2016, the Toronto census metropolitan area (CMA), of which the majority is within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), held a population of 5,928,040, making it Canada's most populous CMA. Toronto is the anchor of an urban agglomeration, known as the Golden Horseshoe in Southern Ontario, located on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world.
Nathan Phillips, was a Canadian politician and popular Mayor of Toronto, Ontario, from 1955 to 1962. A lawyer by training, Phillips was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1926.
Two referendums were held with the elections. One, which passed, was to extend the municipal term to two years. Previously elections had been held every year. There was also a vote on funding a new Toronto City Hall, which was rejected by voters.
The Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, is the seat of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell and landscape architect Richard Strong, and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in 1965. It was built to replace Old City Hall, which had housed city offices since 1899. The current city hall, located at Nathan Phillips Square, is the city's fourth and was built to replace its predecessor which the city outgrew shortly after its completion. The area of Toronto City Hall and the civic square was formerly the location of Toronto's Old Chinatown, which was expropriated and bulldozed during the mid-1950s in preparation for a new civic building.
Nathan Phillips was opposed for reelection after his first year in office by Board of Control member Roy Belyea, who had been a staunch opponent of Phillips during the year. Also running was Trotskyist Ross Dowson.
The Board of Control of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was a part of its municipal government until it was abolished in 1969. It served as the executive committee of the Toronto City Council, consisting of four "controllers" elected citywide and presided over by the Mayor. Beginning in 1904, the Board of Control was directly elected by the city's electorate. Each voter could vote for up to four candidates, and the four with the most votes were elected. By tradition the controller who received the most votes would get the powerful budget chief position.
Ross Jewitt Dowson was a Canadian Trotskyist political figure.
There were two vacancies on the Board of Control after Roy Belyea's decision to run for mayor and Controller David Balfour's decision to retire.
Results are taken from the December 6, 1955 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.
Etobicoke, East York, Mimico, and Forest Hill elected their councils for two-year terms in 1954 and did not hold elections in 1955.
Hiscott defeated Councillor Joseph Bannigan to replace retiring mayor Howard Burrell
McMahon was re-elected, defeating his challenger Deputy Reeve Maurice T. Hook
Harris defeated the incumbent, Oliver Crockford
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 5, 1966. The elections were the first for Toronto after its merger with several smaller suburban communities on January 1, 1967. Forest Hill and Swansea were annexed by the City of Toronto, Leaside was merged with the Township of East York to become the Borough of East York. Weston was combined with the Township of York to form the Borough of York. The Village of Long Branch and the towns of Mimico and New Toronto were merged with the Township of Etobicoke to form the Borough of Etobicoke.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 7, 1964. Incumbent mayor Philip Givens defeated former mayor Allan Lamport.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 3, 1962. Incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips, then the longest-serving mayor in Toronto history, lost to Controller Donald Summerville by a significant margin.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 5, 1960. Six-year incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips was challenged by former mayor Allan Lamport and Controller Jean Newman. Phillips was returned to office.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 1, 1958. Four year incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips won reelection against Controller Ford Brand, who was supported by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and Toronto Labour Council, and Controller Joseph Cornish.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 3, 1956. Incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips was easily reelected. Jean Newman became the first woman elected to the Board of Control, and topped the poll to become budget chief.
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.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 7, 1953. Incumbent mayor Allan Lamport won an unexpectedly close race against school board trustee Arthur Young. This election was the first for councils in the municipality of Metropolitan Toronto which would be created on January 1, 1954 and was composed of 14 municipalities: the City of Toronto, the towns of New Toronto, Mimico, Weston and Leaside; the villages of Long Branch, Swansea and Forest Hill, and the townships of Etobicoke, York, North York, East York, and Scarborough.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 1, 1952. Incumbent mayor Allan Lamport easily won against former alderman Nathan Phillips.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 3, 1951. Allan Lamport defeated incumbent Hiram E. McCallum in the mayoral election.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 4, 1950. It was the second time the elections were held in December ; traditionally elections occurred on New Year's Day. Incumbent mayor Hiram E. McCallum narrowly defeated Allan Lamport. The defeat of Norman Freed and the failure of Charles Sims to regain his seat would bring to a close the communist Labor-Progressive Party's presence on Toronto's City Council though the party, and its successor, the Communist Party of Canada would continue to elect members as school trustees for several decades.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 2, 1950. This was the last time election were held in January, as a ballot measure passed changing the election date to the first Monday in December. This attempt to increase turnout went into effect immediately and an election was held December 4, 1950. The central issue of the campaign was whether to legalize sport on Sundays, with Controller Allan Lamport the main proponent. A referendum was held on the subject, and it passed by a slim margin.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1949. Hiram E. McCallum was elected to his first full term as mayor.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1948. Robert Hood Saunders was re-elected as mayor in an election that also saw no changes on the Board of Control or City Council.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1947. With little serious opposition Robert Hood Saunders was re-elected as mayor.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1942. Incumbent Frederick J. Conboy was acclaimed as mayor.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1941. Frederick J. Conboy was elected mayor.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1936. Sam McBride was elected mayor in a three-way race in which incumbent James Simpson finished third.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1935. James Simpson won a surprise victory in the mayoral campaign to become the first socialist candidate elected to the office.