Toronto municipal election, December 1936

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Municipal elections were held in Toronto , Ontario, Canada, on December 7, 1936, after being moved up from the traditional New Year's Day vote. William D. Robbins was easily elected mayor to his first full term in office.

Toronto Provincial capital city in Ontario, Canada

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.

William D. Robbins Canadian mayor

William Dullam Robbins was the 45th Mayor of Toronto from 1936 to 1937. He was appointed mayor after the death of incumbent Sam McBride and remained in office until defeated by Ralph Day in the 1937 elections. Robbins was considered a representative of labour in Toronto city politics, but was also a member of the Conservative Party. He served 18 years on city council and the Board of Control before becoming mayor. He was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada. He died after years of ill health at his Toronto home in 1952.

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Toronto mayor

William D. Robbins was easily reelected mayor William D. Robbins.jpg
William D. Robbins was easily reelected mayor

William D. Robbins had been appointed to the office of mayor earlier in the year after the death of incumbent Sam McBride. Challenging Robbins for the post was Alderman John Laidlaw and veteran Robert Harding. Robbins was easily reelected, winning a majority of the vote in every ward. One of his main campaign pledges was the construction of an airport for the city of Toronto. This was realized in 1939 with the creation of the Toronto Island Airport.

Sam McBride Canadian politician

Sam (Samuel) McBride was a two-time Mayor of Toronto serving his first term from 1928 to 1929 and his second term in 1936 which ended prematurely due to his death. He was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada.

John Laidlaw is an English former footballer who played in the Football League as a full-back for Colchester United.

Results
William D. Robbins - 74,844
John Laidlaw - 22,018
Robert Harding - 4,045

Board of Control

The promotion of Robbins to the mayoralty and the decision of Controller J. George Ramsden to retire left to vacancies on the Board of Control. The two incumbents were reelected, and three aldermen and Communist leader Tim Buck competed for the two open seats. Frederick J. Conboy and Fred Hamilton were elected.

J. George Ramsden Canadian politician

Joseph George Ramsden was a long active municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was born in Thornhill, Ontario and first became active in politics working for Alexander Mackenzie in a York East by-election. He served for fifteen years as Chief Inspector for the Department of Indian Affairs, which saw him travel extensively through the north of the country. He was also a businessman owning a bakery and other stores in the city.

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.

Communist Party of Canada political party in Canada

The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada founded in 1922. Although it is now a political party without any parliamentary representation, the party's candidates have been elected to the Parliament of Canada, the Ontario legislature, the Manitoba legislature, and various municipal governments across the country. The party has also contributed significantly to trade union organizing and labour history in Canada, peace and anti-war activism, and many other social movements.

Results
Ralph Day (incumbent) - 56,847
Frederick J. Conboy - 48,976
William J. Wadsworth (incumbent) - 48,047
Fred Hamilton - 39,003
Douglas McNish - 32,265
Tim Buck - 31,342
Alfred Burgess - 3,983
Harry Bradley - 3,295

City council

The Communist Party of Canada managed to elect Stewart Smith to City Council from Ward 5. In future elections he would be joined by other Communists such as J.B. Salsberg in forming a far left faction on city council. The Communist Party, and its successor the Labor-Progressive Party would continue to elect members to council until the late 1940s.

Stewart Smith (politician) Canadian politician

Stewart Smith was a long-time leading member of the Communist Party of Canada. He also served on Toronto City Council for a period in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Labor-Progressive Party was a legal political organization in Canada between 1943 and 1959.

Ward boundaries used in the 1936 election Toronto ward map 1964.PNG
Ward boundaries used in the 1936 election
Ward 1 (Riverdale)
W.A. Summerville (incumbent) - 6,794
Frank M. Johnston (incumbent) - 6,717
Graham Spry - 3,440
Ernest Hewett - 2,727
Harry Bell - 1,161
Ward 2 (Cabbagetown and Rosedale)
Allan Lamport - 3,982
Adelaide Plumptre (incumbent) - 3,445
John R. Beamish (incumbent) - 3,194
William Dennison - 1,479
Winston George Harris - 808
Bob King - 320
William McFerran - 221
Ward 3 (Central Business District)
John S. Simmons (incumbent) - 2,785
Percy Quinn - 1,784
Fred Bartrem - 1,419
Neil MacMillan - 961
Jean Laing - 692
Ward 4 (Kensington Market and Garment District)
Nathan Phillips (incumbent) - 4,127
Robert Hood Saunders (incumbent) - 3,884
J.B. Salsberg - 3,633
Herbert Orliffe - 813
Albert Leslie - 673
Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods
Stewart Smith - 3,500
Ernest Bogart - 3,076
Albert Hacker - 3,041
Ward Markle - 2,862
Clifford McBride - 2,713
Harold Menzies - 2,618
Charles Ward - 1,773
Harold Kerr - 896
James Conner - 795
Alfons Stanewski - 616
Thomas Guy - 439
Valentine Burda - 273
Basil Ingelby - 165
Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale)
D.C. MacGregor (incumbent) - 6,786
George Grannell - 5,044
William V. Muir - 4,182
William Miller - 3,439
John Reid - 2,658
Neil Cameron - 2,129
Harry Stephenson - 1,518
Jones - 1,031
Bertram Tipping - 746
William Logie - 742
Grace Farrow - 370
Ward 7 (West Toronto Junction)
George H. Gardiner (incumbent) - 5,125
Frank Whetter (incumbent) - 3,603
Charles Rowntree - 3,206
McMurray - 895
Thompson - 533
Shaw - 296
Ward 8 (The Beaches)
Walter Howell (incumbent) - 8,116
Ernest Bray (incumbent) - 8,001
Ernest Woollon - 4,725
Frederick Collins - 1,390
David Weir - 615
Ward 9 (North Toronto)
William D. Ellis (incumbent) - 6,580
William Croft - 5,338
John Innes - 5,282

Results taken from the December 8, 1936 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.

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