Toronto municipal election, December 1950

Last updated March 15, 2019

Municipal elections were held in Toronto , Ontario, Canada, on December 4, 1950. It was the second time the elections were held in December (the first was in 1936); 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.

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.

Hiram Emerson McCallum was a mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 1948-1951. He was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada.

Toronto mayor

McCallum, running for his fourth one-year term, was challenged by Controller Lamport. McCallum had faced only token opposition in his previous elections, but Lamport came surprisingly close to defeating him. For much of election night it looked as though Lamport would win, but it was swung by McCallum's ten thousand vote margin in the North Toronto Ward 9.

North Toronto is a former town and informal district located in the northern part of the Old Toronto district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Currently occupying a geographically central location within the city of Toronto, the Town of North Toronto was incorporated in 1890, when much of the area was still farmland, and annexed by the old city of Toronto in 1912. The name is still used to refer to the area in general, although Yonge–Eglinton and Midtown Toronto are officially used.

Results: Hiram E. McCallum - 86,491; Allan Lamport - 84,987

Board of Control

Lamport's decision to run for mayor left one vacancy on the Board of Control. This opening was won by Alderman Louis Shannon, with Ford Brand, secretary of the Toronto and District Labour Council finishing fifth and Alderman W.H. Collings in sixth. Former Controller and communist Stewart Smith made another attempt to return to the board, but finished seventh.

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.

J. Louis Shannon was a municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada who served for many years on Toronto City Council and the Toronto Board of Control.

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.

Results: John Innes (incumbent) - 93,656; David Balfour (incumbent) - 81,577; Leslie Saunders (incumbent) - 80,703; Louis Shannon - 74,859; Ford Brand - 66,235; W.H. Collings - 59,380; Stewart Smith - 28,309; Charles Henry Mahoney - 8,210; Frederick Vacher - 7,653

City council

Ward 1 (Riverdale): John McMechan (incumbent) - 12,381; William Allen (incumbent) - 12,294; Titchener-Smith - 4,794

Ward 2 (Cabbagetown and Rosedale): Joseph Cornish (incumbent) - 8,310; Beverley Sparling (incumbent) - 8,061; Sylvester Perry - 3,710

Ward 3 (West Downtown and Summerhill): Harold Fishleigh (incumbent) - 6,294; Howard Phillips (incumbent) - 8,767; Massey Edwards - 1,938; Probert - 1,440

Ward 4 (The Annex, Kensington Market and Garment District): Nathan Phillips (incumbent) - 8,767; Francis Chambers - 7,403; Norman Freed (incumbent) - 4,611; Friedman - 2,088; McConnell - 788; Francis Love - 437

Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods): Arthur Frost (incumbent) - 12,479; Joseph Gould (incumbent) - 12,362; Charles Sims - 5,646; Midanik - 1,585; Haddrall - 784

Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale): Robert Colucci - 15,282; George Granell (incumbent) - 14,609; Lester Nelson (incumbent) - 14,129; Dewar Ferguson - 4,801

Ward 7 (West Toronto Junction): Alfred Cowling (incumbent) - 8,971; William Davidson (incumbent) - 8,878; David Sanderson - 5,189

Ward 8 (The Beaches): Ross Lipsett (incumbent) - 17,323; Alex Hodgins - 15,310; William Probert - 4,601; Maurice Punshon - 4,205; John Square - 1,443

Ward 9 (North Toronto): Frank Nash (incumbent) - 19,493; Roy Belyea (incumbent) - 19,488; Lewis - 4,328

Results taken from the December 5, 1950 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.

Changes

Controller John Innes died July 16, 1951; Ward 7 Alderman Alfred Cowling was appointed Controller September 5 and David Sanderson was appointed Alderman September 17.

John Innes was a municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was born in Scotland and immigrated to Canada in around 1900 when he was in his twenties. A carpenter by trade he built a home in on Merton Street in North Toronto. He then became a developer, building several other homes around the area. He married Jesse Coutts, but she died in 1928 after being hit by a golf ball.

Alfred Hozack "Alf" Cowling was a Canadian politician, who represented High Park in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1951 to 1971 as a Progressive Conservative member.

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References

Election Coverage. Toronto Star. December 5, 1950

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