1955 Toronto Municipal Election
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - 1955 Toronto Municipal Election
OR:
1955 Toronto Municipal Election on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Municipal elections were held in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario, Canada, on December 5, 1955. Incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips, elected a year earlier, was easily reelected, defeating Controller Roy E. Belyea and
Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
Ross Dowson Ross Jewitt Dowson (September 4, 1917 – February 17, 2002) was a Canadian Trotskyist political figure. Early life Dowson was born on September 4, 1917, the third of what was eventually a family of seven children in a working-class family in ...
."Phillips, Belyea, Dowson in Race: Three Seek Mavor's Chair", ''The Globe and Mail'' (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont3 Dec 1955: 13. 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 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 Viljo Revell and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in ...
, which was rejected by voters.


Toronto mayor

Nathan Phillips was opposed for reelection after his first year in office by Board of Control member Roy E. Belyea, who had been a staunch opponent of Phillips during the year. Also running was
Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
Ross Dowson Ross Jewitt Dowson (September 4, 1917 – February 17, 2002) was a Canadian Trotskyist political figure. Early life Dowson was born on September 4, 1917, the third of what was eventually a family of seven children in a working-class family in ...
. ;Results : Nathan Phillips - 70,647 : Roy E. Belyea - 26,717 :
Ross Dowson Ross Jewitt Dowson (September 4, 1917 – February 17, 2002) was a Canadian Trotskyist political figure. Early life Dowson was born on September 4, 1917, the third of what was eventually a family of seven children in a working-class family in ...
- 2,374


Plebiscites

Two questions appeared on the ballot. The first was on whether municipal terms of office should be extended to two years from one. The second was to authorize the construction of a proposed new
city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
to replace the existing city hall, which had been built in 1899. The proposed structure, designed by a partnership of three leading Toronto architectural forms, would have been a conservative, symmetrical limestone-clad building in the Modernist style facing a landscaped square, and was widely criticized as "drab and boxy". ;2-year term :For - 48,024 :Against - 33,688 Two-year terms would be put in place effective the 1956 Toronto municipal election. ;New City Hall :For - 28,449 :Against - 32,564 Source: "Mayoralty and Questions" ''The Globe and Mail'' (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont6 Dec 1955: 5 As a result of the rejection of the proposed structure, city council decided, in 1956, to hold an nternational_architectural_design_competition_to_find_a_better_design._A_proposal_by_Finland.html" "title="architectural_design_competition.html" ;"title="nternational architectural design competition">nternational architectural design competition to find a better design. A proposal by Finland">Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
architect Viljo Revell would be accepted. Construction of Toronto City Hall, New City Hall began in 1961, and the building was officially opened in 1966.


Board of Control

There were two vacancies on the Board of Control after Roy E. Belyea's decision to run for mayor and Controller David Balfour's decision to retire. The most senior two Controllers in terms of votes also sat on
Metro Toronto Council The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, which ...
. ;Results :
Ford Brand Ford Brand (1904July 29, 1986) was a Canadian politician who was a one-time rival to Toronto mayor Nathan Phillips. Ford had a seat on the Toronto Board of Control, the municipality's executive body, from 1951 to 1958 and also an inaugural member ...
(incumbent) - 59,264 : Joseph Cornish (incumbent) - 55,162 :
William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...
- 53,455 : Leslie Saunders - 46,528 :Arthur Brown - 41,351 :Harry Bradley - 14,802 :
Alex Hodgins Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple ...
- 13,503 :Harry Hunter - 9,493 :George Rolland - 3,923 :George Stanton - 3,863


City council

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) : Ken Waters (incumbent) - 6,945 : George Phillips - 2,916 :
Fred Beavis Frederick J. Beavis (October 8, 1914 – July 11, 1997) was a longtime city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, who briefly served as interim mayor of the city in 1978. Beavis operated the ''Beavis Bros. Roofing Co.'' with his brothers before becomin ...
- 2,828 :Stanley Hare - 2,137 :Christie - 1,403 :Montgomery - 960 :Basil Ingleby - 886 :Jean Brown - 3,412 ;Ward 2 (
Regent Park Regent Park is a neighbourhood located in downtown Toronto, Ontario built in the late 1940s as a public housing project managed by Toronto Community Housing. It sits on what used to be a significant part of the Cabbagetown neighbourhood and ...
and Rosedale) : William Dennison (incumbent) - 5,366 : Edgar Roxborough (incumbent) - 4,051 :
May Birchard May Birchard (died July 30, 1968) was a municipal politician and poverty activist in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Born in Toronto, she married F.J. Birchard, an agricultural scientist who was an expert on grain. During the First World War the family m ...
- 2,127 :Douglas Shaw - 1,528 :Philip Rowley - 683 ;Ward 3 (West
Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
and
Summerhill Summerhill or Summer Hill may refer to the following places: Australia * Summer Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney *Summerhill, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston * Summerhill (Mount Duneed), a prefabricated iron cottage in Victoria Canada * ...
) :
Ross Parry ''Ross Parry News Agency'' is a national and international news agency based in Yorkshire. The company is owned by South West News Service. History Ross Parry started life as an independent news agency based in Leeds Leeds () is a city and ...
- 4,149 : Howard Phillips (incumbent) - 2,802 : John MacVicar (incumbent) - 2,260 :Richard James - 1,737 ;Ward 4 (
The Annex The Annex is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road. The City of Toronto recognizes ...
,
Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canad ...
and Garment District) :
Herbert Orliffe Herbert Orliffe (c.1905 – 3 July 1967) was a municipal politician in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He immigrated with his family from Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle, England at age 8 and settled in Toronto. His father operated a grocery sto ...
(incumbent) - 4,515 : Francis Chambers - 3,746 :
David Rotenberg David Rotenberg (July 24, 1930 - January 13, 2022) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 1985 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, and was briefly a cabinet min ...
- 2,086 :
Robert Laxer Robert Mendel Laxer (September 10, 1915 – October 24, 1998) was a Canadian psychologist, professor, author, and political activist. Life and career Laxer was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1915 and graduated from McGill University with a Bachel ...
- 1,073 :Levitt - 824 :John Anture - 386 :Dorothy Cureatz - 362 ;Ward 5 (
Trinity-Bellwoods Trinity-Bellwoods is an inner city neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the east by Bathurst Street, on the north by College Street, on the south by Queen Street West, and by Dovercourt Road on the west. It has a large Por ...
and
Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...
) :
Philip Givens Philip Gerald Givens, (April 24, 1922 – November 30, 1995) was a Canadian politician and judge. He was the Mayor of Toronto, a Member of Parliament (MP) and Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP). He was born and raised in Toronto and at ...
(incumbent) - 5,605 :
Harold Menzies Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts a ...
- 4,929 :Teslia - 1,907 :Paul Pauk - 1,228 :Tennant - 1,140 :Di Stasi - 872 ;Ward 6 ( Davenport and Parkdale) : May Robinson (incumbent) - 10,233 :
Frank Clifton Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...
(incumbent) - 9,473 :Grittani - 2,797 :George Jackson - 2,274 ;Ward 7 (
Bloor West Village Bloor West Village is a family-friendly residential neighbourhood and vibrant shopping district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bordered on the south by Bloor Street, it encompasses all businesses along Bloor Street between South Kingsway and Ellis P ...
) :
William Davidson William or Bill Davidson may refer to: Businessmen * Bill Davidson (businessman) (1922–2009), Michigan businessman and sports team owner ** William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan, named in honor of Bill Davidson * William Davidson ...
(incumbent) - 5,506 :
John Kucherepa John William Kucherepa (27 May 1919 – 25 March 1990) was a Progressive Conservative party member of the House of Commons of Canada. Kucherepa was born in Toronto, Ontario where he attended the Humberside Collegiate Institute and Western H ...
(incumbent) - 4,993 : Thomas Wilson - 2,124 :William Repka - 653 ;Ward 8 (
The Beaches The Beaches (also known as "The Beach") is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is so named because of its four beaches situated on Lake Ontario. It is located east of downtown within the "Old" City of Toronto. The approximate boundar ...
) :
Donald Summerville Donald Dean Summerville (August 4, 1915 – November 19, 1963) was a Canadian politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Toronto from January 1963 until his death that same year. Early life and family Summerville was born in Toronto to Willi ...
(incumbent) - 13,139 : Albert G. Cranham - 8,456 :Brawley - 2,542 :Chris Stavro - 1,682 :Davis - 1,252 :John Square - 529 ;Ward 9 (
North Toronto 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 w ...
) : Jean Newman (incumbent) - 14,984 :
Frank Nash Frank Nash (February 6, 1887 – June 17, 1933) was an American bank robber, and has been called "the most successful bank robber in U.S. history." He is most noted for his violent death in the Kansas City Massacre. Nash spent part of his child ...
- 12,736 :Waterfield - 3,101 Results are taken from the December 6, 1955 ''Toronto Star'' and might not exactly match final tallies.


Suburbs

Etobicoke, East York, Mimico, and Forest Hill elected their councils for two-year terms in 1954 and did not hold elections in 1955.


Leaside Leaside (/'liːˌsaɪd/) is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northeast of Downtown Toronto, in the vicinity of Eglinton Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. The area takes its name from William Lea and the Lea family, who se ...

;Mayor : Charles H. Hiscott - 2,228 :Joseph Banigan - 1,073 Hiscott defeated Councillor Joseph Bannigan to replace retiring mayor Howard Burrell Source: "Suburban elections", ''The Globe and Mail'' (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont6 Dec 1955: 13


Long Branch

;Reeve :(incumbent)
Marie Curtis Ann Marie Curtis (1911/12 – March 12, 2006), née McCarthy, was a Canadian politician, who served as the reeve of the Toronto suburb of Long Branch, Ontario from 1953 to her retirement in 1962. She was the first, and only, woman to become reeve ...
(acclaimed)


New Toronto New Toronto is a neighbourhood and former municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-west area of Toronto, along Lake Ontario. The Town of New Toronto was established in 1890, and was designed and planned as an indust ...

;Mayor :(incumbent) Donald R. Russell (acclaimed)


North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

;Reeve :(incumbent) Fred J. McMahon - 16,269 :Maurice T. Hook - 6,181 McMahon was re-elected, defeating his challenger Deputy Reeve Maurice T. Hook. Source: "Fred McMahon Is Re-elected N. York Reeve", ''The Globe and Mail'' (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont6 Dec 1955: 13


Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

;Reeve :
Gus Harris Augustus Vincent Patrick Harris (July 1908 – February 20, 2000) was a Canadian politician. He was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He was the mayor of Scarborough, Ontario from 1978 to 1988. Although he was a relatively conservative, ...
- 14,304 :(incumbent)
Oliver E. Crockford Oliver E. Crockford (1893 - 28 March 1986) was the Reeve (Canada), reeve of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, from 1948 until 1956, and gained the nickname "Mr. Scarborough" during his tenure. He is credited with the industrial development of Scarboro ...
- 10,178 ;Deputy Reeve : Albert Campbell - 15,369 :George Baker - 8,521 Harris defeated the incumbent, Oliver Crockford Source: "Suburban elections", ''The Globe and Mail'' (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont6 Dec 1955: 13


Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

;Reeve *(incumbent) Dorothy Hague (acclaimed)


Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

;Mayor *(incumbent) Harry Clark (acclaimed)


York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

;Reeve :(incumbent) Frederick W. Hall - 6,555 : Walter Saunders - 6,256 :Charles McMaster - 1,039 :
Norman Penner Norman Penner (February 21, 1921 - April 16, 2009) was professor emeritus at York University, a writer and historian, a war veteran and a former activist in the Communist Party of Canada and the Labor-Progressive Party who broke with the party as ...
- 1,006 Source: "Few Brave Cold Rain To Vote in 3 Suburbs", Taylor, Ewart. ''The Globe and Mail'' (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont5 Dec 1955: 1


References

*Election Coverage. ''Toronto Star''. December 6, 1955 {{Toronto elections
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
1955 in Ontario December 1955 events in Canada