The 1994 Toronto municipal election was held in November 1994 to elect councillors in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and mayors, councillors and school trustees in Toronto, York, East York, North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke.
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada from 1954 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, which were starting to urbanise rapidly after World War II. It was commonly referred to as "Metro Toronto" or "Metro".
Old Toronto is the retronym of the area contained within the original boundaries of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 1834 to 1998. It was first incorporated as a city in 1834, after being known as the town of York, and became part of York County. In 1954, it became the administrative headquarters for the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. The city expanded in size by annexation of surrounding municipalities, reaching its final boundaries in 1967. Finally, in 1998, it was amalgamated with the other cities of Metropolitan Toronto ; and the borough of East York, into the present-day city of Toronto. This was not a traditional annexation of the surrounding municipalities, but rather a new municipal entity that is the successor of the original city.
York is a former city within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. As a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form the current city of Toronto. The City of York was created by the amalgamation of several villages, including the present-day neighbourhoods of Lambton Mills and Weston.
The election was noted as a defeat for incumbents. Three sitting mayors were defeated: June Rowlands in Toronto, Fergy Brown, in York, and Bruce Sinclair of Etobicoke. On Metro Toronto Council it was a victory for the left as the New Democratic Party (NDP) faction grew from six to nine members.
June Rowlands was a Canadian politician who was the 60th mayor of Toronto, Ontario, and the first woman to hold that office. She had previously been a longtime city councillor, an unsuccessful federal candidate, and a chair of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission.
James Fergus Brown was a politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He served as Mayor of York from 1988 to 1994.
Bruce G. Sinclair is a former politician in Toronto, Ontario. He was mayor of Etobicoke from 1984 to 1993. Before that he served 15 years on Etobicoke's council as alderman and controller. From 1998 to 2000 he was a member of Toronto City Council.
Ten of Metro Council's 28 members ran unopposed in the election, and they were therefore acclaimed. No incumbents were defeated. The most noted change was the growth of the left wing NDP faction from six to nine. New NDP members were David Miller, Caroline Di Giovanni, and mayor Michael Prue.
David Raymond Miller is the North American director for the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a former Mayor of Toronto and former president and CEO of WWF-Canada, the Canadian division of the international World Wildlife Fund.
Michael David Prue is a politician in Ontario, Canada. Prue was mayor of East York, Ontario from 1993 to 1997 and subsequently represented the riding of Beaches—East York in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2001 to 2014 as member of the New Democratic Party (NDP)'s Queen's Park caucus. He was a candidate in the 2009 Ontario NDP leadership election, finishing in fourth place. In 2018, he was elected to the town council of Amherstburg, Ontario where he now lives.
In the City of Toronto, the most high-profile race was that for Mayor of Toronto in which incumbent June Rowlands was challenged by city councillor Barbara Hall, the first time a race for mayor had two female front-runners. Though the candidates were nominally independent, Rowlands was backed by the right-wing consisting of a coalition of right-wing Liberals and Progressive Conservatives (Rowlands was a member of the Liberal Party) while Hall was backed by New Democrats, left-wing Liberals, and Red Tories. Hall had been a member of the City NDP caucus on city council and had been an NDP candidate in the 1987 provincial election.
The Mayor of Toronto is the leader of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The mayor is directly-elected in municipal elections every four years alongside Toronto City Council. The mayor is responsible for the administration of government services, the composition of councils and committees overseeing Toronto government departments and serves as the chairperson for meeting of Toronto City Council.
Barbara Hall is a Canadian lawyer, public servant and former politician. She was the 61st mayor of Toronto, the last to run before amalgamation. She was elected mayor of the pre-amalgamation City of Toronto in 1994, and held office until December 31, 1997. On November 28, 2005, Hall was appointed chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. After having her term extended four times, she retired February 27, 2015, after almost a decade in the position.
The Liberal Party of Canada is the oldest and longest-serving governing political party in Canada. The Liberals form the current government, elected in 2015. The party has dominated federal politics for much of Canada's history, holding power for almost 69 years in the 20th century—more than any other party in a developed country—and as a result, it is sometimes referred to as Canada's "natural governing party".
As a consequence of Jack Layton's failure to win the mayoralty as an official NDP candidate in the 1991 election, Hall preferred to run without a party label and included prominent Liberals such as George Smitherman on her campaign team.
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton was a Canadian politician and Leader of the Official Opposition. He was leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, occasionally holding the title of acting mayor or deputy mayor of Toronto during his tenure as city councillor. He was the Member of Parliament for Toronto—Danforth from 2004 until his death.
George Smitherman is a Canadian politician and broadcaster. He represented the provincial riding of Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2010, when he resigned to contest the mayoralty of Toronto in the 2010 municipal election. Smitherman is the first openly gay Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) elected in Ontario, and the province's first openly gay cabinet minister. In January 2011, he joined talk radio station CFRB as a contributor and fill-in host on the Live Drive with John Tory show.
Rowlands' tenure as mayor had resulted in criticism by many of her supporters, particularly those on the right. Her decision to ban the Barenaked Ladies, a rock band, from performing at Nathan Phillips Square because their name might be considered sexist was seen as both pandering to political correctness and evidence that she was out of touch with contemporary culture. Her allegedly slow response to a riot on Yonge Street following the acquittal of the police who beat Rodney King also made her appear out of touch.
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band, formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band quickly developed a cult following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release ever to be certified gold in Canada. Their debut with Reprise Records, Gordon, featuring the singles "If I Had $1000000" and "Brian Wilson", was released in 1992.
Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and is named for Nathan Phillips, mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962. The square was designed by the City Hall's architect Viljo Revell and landscape architect Richard Strong. It opened in 1965. The square is the site of concerts, art displays, a weekly farmers' market, the winter festival of lights, and other public events, including demonstrations. During the winter months, the reflecting pool is converted into an ice rink for ice skating. The square attracts an estimated 1.5 million visitors yearly. With an area of 4.85 hectares, it is Canada's largest city square.
The term political correctness is used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. Since the late 1980s, the term has come to refer to avoiding language or behavior that can be seen as excluding, marginalizing, or insulting groups of people considered disadvantaged or discriminated against, especially groups defined by sex or race. In public discourse and the media, it is generally used as a pejorative, implying that these policies are excessive or unwarranted.
Rowlands's campaign was hurt by the candidacy of Gerry Meinzer, a businessman and political novice who, though he never had the support or organization needed to win, succeeded in taking enough votes from the Rowlands' centre-right coalition to ensure her defeat.
Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Barbara Hall | 70,248 | 43.05 | |
(x) June Rowlands | 58,952 | 36.13 | |
Gerry Meinzer | 20,868 | 12.79 | |
Jenny Friedland | 2,858 | 1.75 | |
Don Andrews | 2,839 | 1.74 | |
Ben Kerr | 1,634 | 1.00 | |
Lili Weemen | 1,296 | 0.79 | |
Lorna Houston | 1,214 | 0.74 | |
John Steele | 1,200 | 0.74 | |
Sam Bornstein | 1,193 | 0.73 | |
Bob Hyman | 857 | 0.53 | |
Total valid votes | 163,159 | 100.00 |
Source: Toronto Elections, City of Toronto.
All incumbents running were easily re-elected. Mayor Prue was challenged by former councillor Bob Willis who felt that Prue hadn't done a good job but he came up well short. Case Ootes in Ward 1 ran for a seat on Metro Council allowing Michael Tziretas to win his seat. Paul Robinson, John Antonopolous, and Tim Cholvat were also newcomers. [2]
† denotes incumbent from previous council
Two councillors elected in each ward.
Mel Lastman was re-elected mayor of the City. All incumbent councillors were re-elected except Judy Sgro who opted to run for Metro Council instead. Gina Severino replaced her as councillor for Ward 2. [3]
Ward 1
Ward 2
Ward 3
Ward 4
Ward 5
Ward 6
Ward 7
Ward 8
Ward 9
Ward 10
Ward 11
Ward 12
Ward 13
Ward 14
Ward 1
Ward 2
Ward 3
Ward 4
Ward 5
Ward 6
Ward 7
Ward 8
Ward 9
Ward 10
Ward 11
Ward 12
Ward 13
Ward 14
Ward 1 – Roz Mendelson 57.5%
Ward 2 – Joe Mihevc 35.4%
Ward 3 – Rob Davis 45.2%
Ward 4 – Joan Roberts 40.3%
Ward 5 – Barry Rowland 44.4%
Ward 6 – Michael McDonald 74.5%
Ward 7 – Randy Leach 30.9%
Ward 8 – Bill Saundercook 2996 61.1% Margo Duncan 1905 38.9%
Metro Councillor Ward 21 – Caroline Di Giovanni (Acclamation)
Metro Councillor Ward 22 Alan Tonks 13759 76.2% Stuart Weinstein 4298 23.8%
School Board Ward 1 Ed Blackstock
School Board Ward 2 Pete Karageorgos
School Board Ward 3 Sam Wales
School Board Ward 4 Elizabeth Hill
School Board Ward 5 Joe Morriello
School Board Ward 6 Bonnie Taylor
School Board Ward 7 Bob Thomson
School Board Ward 8 Carl Miller
The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the City of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors. The passage of provincial legislation in the summer of 2018 established that the number of wards be reduced from 44 to 25 and that they be based upon the city's federal electoral districts as of the year 2000. While the federal districts have been redistributed since then, the ward boundaries remain the same. The city council had at its peak 45 members: 44 ward councillors plus the mayor. On September 19, 2018 an Ontario Court of appeals granted a stay order of a previous court decision that would have prevented this reduction, thus re-establishing the move to 25 wards. The actual court appeal of Bill 5 has yet to be scheduled, but was heard subsequent to the municipal election on October 22, 2018.
Alan Tonks is a former Canadian politician. He was the Liberal MP for the federal riding of York South—Weston in Toronto from 2000 to 2011, and was the final Metro Toronto Chairman before the amalgamation of Metro Toronto into the new City of Toronto.
The Toronto municipal election of 2000, dubbed "Toronto Vote 2000" was the municipal and school board election held in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 13, 2000.
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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 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.
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