1954 Toronto municipal election

Last updated

1954 Toronto mayoral election
Flag of Toronto, Canada.svg
  1953 December 6, 1954 1955  
  Mayor Nathan Phillips wearing chain of office (cropped).jpg Leslie Saunders 1956 (cropped).jpg
AB
Candidate Nathan Phillips Leslie Saunders Arthur J. Brown
Popular vote40,68336,75636,613
Percentage34.2%30.9%30.8%

Mayor of Toronto before election

Leslie Saunders

Elected Mayor of Toronto

Nathan Phillips

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.

Contents

Toronto mayor

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]

Results
Nathan Phillips - 40,683
Leslie Saunders - 36,756
Arthur J. Brown - 36,613
A. A. MacLeod - 4,932

Board of Control

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.

Results
Ford Brand (incumbent) - 69,540
Roy E. Belyea (incumbent) - 66,223
David Balfour (incumbent) - 62,871
Joseph Cornish - 55,277
Ross Lipsett (incumbent) - 45,385
Harry Bradley - 20,488
Harry Hunter - 14,114
Ben Nobleman - 9,413
George Rolland - 5,280

City council

Ward boundaries used in the 1954 election Toronto ward map 1964.PNG
Ward boundaries used in the 1954 election

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.

Ward 1 (Riverdale)
William Allen (incumbent) - 8,855
Ken Waters (incumbent) - 8,042
George Phillips - 2,282
Stanley Hare - 1,381
Thornley - 932
Ward 2 (Regent Park and Rosedale)
William Dennison (incumbent) - 4,831
Edgar Roxborough (incumbent) - 4,479
Douglas Shaw - 2,268
C.M. Edwards - 1,551
Morrison - 669
Philip Rowley - 647
Ward 3 (West Downtown and Summerhill)
Howard Phillips (incumbent) - acclaimed
John MacVicar (incumbent) - acclaimed

Phillips was chosen to become Metro Councillor.

Ward 4 (The Annex, Kensington Market and Garment District)
Allan Grossman (incumbent) - 6,455
Herbert Orliffe (incumbent) - 5,345
Robert Laxer - 1,368
Bernard Levitt - 1,307
Blainey - 756
Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods and Little Italy)
Philip Givens (incumbent) - 7,470
Joseph Gould (incumbent) - 6,770
Stewart Smith - 2,678
Teslia - 2,105
Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale)
May Robinson (incumbent) - 11,349
Frank Clifton (incumbent) - 10,470
Grittani - 2,763
Hector MacArthur - 2,067
Tennant - 1,684
Muir - 1,561
Patrick McKeown - 1,039
Ward 7 (Bloor West Village)
William Davidson (incumbent) - 6,228
John Kucherepa (incumbent) - 4,989
John Duncan - 3,951
John Weir - 1,915
Ward 8 (The Beaches)
Donald Summerville - 10,002
Alex Hodgins (incumbent) - 8,327
Albert G. Cranham - 6,485
William Probert (incumbent) - 3,169
McNulty - 2,553
James Davis - 1,210
John Square - 384
Ward 9 (North Toronto)
Jean Newman - 14,873
Leonard Reilly (incumbent) - 11,261
David Burt (incumbent) - 9,819
Frederick Vacher - 1,394

Results are taken from the December 7, 1954 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.

Suburbs

East York

Reeve
Harry G. Simpson - 3,723
Jack Allen - 2,613
John Warren - 2,211

Source: "East York Returns Reeve for 8th Term", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]06 Dec 1954: 1.

Etobicoke

Reeve
Beverley Lewis (acclaimed)
Deputy Reeve
Henry O. Waffle - 7,513
William R. Hodgson - 4,608

Source: Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]07 Dec 1954: 7.

Forest Hill

Reeve
Charles O. Bick (acclaimed)

Source: Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]07 Dec 1954: 7.

Leaside

Mayor
(incumbent) Howard T. Burrell (acclaimed)

Source: "Weston, Leaside Voters To Elect 10 Councillors", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Dec 3, 1954; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: pg. 8

Long Branch

Reeve
(incumbent) Marie Curtis 2,020
Sherman Anderson 248

Election occurred on December 11.

Source: "Mrs. Marie Curtis Reeve Again By An Overwhelming Majority", Toronto Daily Star, December 13, 1954, pg 10

Mimico

Mayor
William Arthur (Gus) Edwards 1,669
(incumbent)Archibald Douglas Norris 1,256

Election occurred on December 11.

Source: "Reeve W. Edwards Defeats Mayor Norris At Mimico", Toronto Daily Star, December 13, 1954, pg 10

New Toronto

Mayor
Donald Russell 1,811
(incumbent)John L. (Jack) Strath 841

Election occurred on December 11.

Source: "Mayor Strath Defeated. D. Russell Easy Winner", Toronto Daily Star, December 13, 1954, pg 10

North York

Reeve
(incumbent) Fred J. McMahon - 18,224
Samuel Wagman - 3,837

Source: Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]07 Dec 1954: 7.

Scarborough

Reeve
Oliver E. Crockford - 9,064
Richard Sutton - 8,036
Hilda Murray - 1,052
Deputy Reeve
Augustus Harris - 10,010
Fred Sloky - 7,889

Source: Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]07 Dec 1954: 7.

Swansea

Reeve
(incumbent) Dorothy Hague (acclaimed)

Weston

Harry Clark (acclaimed)

Source: "Election Returns", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]06 Dec 1954: 32

York

Reeve
(incumbent) Frederick W. Hall - 10,724
Charles McMaster - 3,178
Norman Penner - 1,723

Source: "Election Results", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]06 Dec 1954: 32.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto</span> Regional chair of Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto or Metro Chairman was the regional chair of Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the most senior political figure in the municipality. The Metro Chairman was elected by the members of Metropolitan Toronto Council.

Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 5, 1966. The elections were the first in 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.

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. When it was initially created in 1896 by mandate of the provincial government, it consisted of three Controllers appointed from and by the aldermen, and presided over by the Mayor of Toronto. Beginning in 1904, the Board of Control was directly elected by the city's electorate and consisted of four Controllers, presided over by the Mayor. 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.

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 5, 1955. Incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips, elected a year earlier, was easily reelected, defeating Controller Roy E. Belyea and Trotskyist Ross Dowson.

Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 7, 1953. Incumbent mayor Allan Lamport won an unexpectedly close race against school board chairman Arthur J. Brown. 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, 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, 1946. Incumbent Robert Hood Saunders ran unopposed and was acclaimed as mayor.

Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Canada, on January 5, 1891. Edward Frederick Clarke, was re-elected to his fourth term in office, defeating former alderman Ernest A. Macdonald.

Arthur J. Brown (1901-?) was a Canadian politician and insurance underwriter in Toronto.

Ross Lipsett was a municipal politician in Toronto in the 1950s.

References

  1. Leslie Howard Saunders. An Orangeman in public life: the memoirs of Leslie Howard Saunders. Britannia Printers, 1980 pg. 128
  2. "A. A. MacLeod: Dominated Legislature as left-wing member" The Globe and Mail (1936-Current); Mar 14, 1970; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 12