The Toronto municipal election of 1978 held on Monday, November 13, 1978, was the first seriously contested

mayoralty In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

race 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 anch ...

, Ontario, Canada, since

David Crombie David Edward Crombie (born April 24, 1936) is a Canadian former academic and politician who served as the 56th mayor of Toronto from 1972 to 1978. Crombie was elected to Parliament following his tenure as mayor. A member of the Progressive Cons ...

took office in the 1972 election. Crombie left municipal politics earlier in 1978 to seek and win a seat in the House of Commons of Canada as the Progressive Conservative

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Rosedale electoral district.

Toronto

Mayoral race

The contest to succeed Crombie (or more correctly, interim Mayor

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 ...

) was a wide-open affair that saw three

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

, David Smith,

Tony O'Donohue Anthony "Tony" Edward O'Donohue (March 22, 1933 – February 20, 2022) was a former municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Early life Born in The Burren, County Clare, Ireland (then Irish Free State), O'Donohue graduated as a civil eng ...

and

John Sewell John Sewell (born December 8, 1940) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the 58th mayor of Toronto from 1978 to 1980. Background Born and raised in the Beach neighbourhood, in Toronto, Sewell attended Malvern Collegiate Institut ...

contest the position. Though O'Donohue and Smith were both aligned with the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

s with links to developers, O'Donohue was seen as more right-wing and won the endorsement of the conservative ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'' newspaper, while Smith was seen as more of a centrist. Sewell had first been elected to

Toronto city council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The c ...

in 1969 and had a reputation as a community activist and even a radical. His backers consisted of New Democratic Party supporters (although Sewell himself has never been a member of the party), left-wing Liberals and

Red Tories A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to favour ...

, many of whom had supported Crombie who, despite his Tory allegiance, had a reputation as a reform mayor on the left-wing of the municipal political spectrum. The split on the right between O'Donohue and Smith allowed Sewell to win with less than 50% of the vote. Sewell received strong support from younger voters, tenants, and the highly educated and affluent. He carried midtown (ward 5), the downtown (wards 6 and 7, the latter of which he represented as an alderman), the east end (wards 8 and 9) and one of the city's wealthy northern wards (ward 10). O'Donohue won the working class, heavily Catholic and ethnic west end (wards 1-4), one of which he represented as an alderman; Sewell fared poorly in the west end. Smith narrowly beat Sewell in the northern ward 11, which he had represented as an alderman. ;Results :

- 71,885 :

- 62,173 : David Smith - 45,071 :Joe Martin - 1,658 :Ron Morawski - 1,546 :John Beattle - 1,239 :Louis Thomas - 826 :Richard Sanders - 778 :Zoltan Szoboszloi - 439 :Hardial Dhir - 379 :Walter Lohaza - 336 :Andries Murnieks - 323

City council

Top two from each ward elected to Toronto City Council. Top one from each ward also wins a seat on

Metro Toronto 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, whic ...

council. ;Ward 1 ( Swansea and

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 ...

) :(incumbent)David White - 8,087 : William Boytchuk - 7,379 :Audrey Jardine - 5,281 :Diane Fancher - 4,943 :Io Amoneen - 4,457 :Aiden Buckley - 1,209 ;Ward 2 ( Parkdale and Brockton) : Tony Ruprecht - 4,843 :Barbara Adams - 4,582 :Thor Wons - 3,457 : Chris Korwin - 3,008 :Les Wawrow - 1,959 :Glen Bany - 1,956 :Bob Grossi - 1,237 :Frank Bray - 299 :Larry Daoust - 141 ;Ward 3 ( Davenport and Corso Italia) :(incumbent)

Joseph Piccininni Joseph J. Piccininni (born ''Guiseppe Piccininni'', January 15, 1922 – September 16, 1995) was a long-serving city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He represented the Corso Italia area on city council for 25 years. Background Born in Tor ...

- 7,566 :(incumbent)Richard Gilbert - 6,377 :Joe Renda - 2,616 :Tony Amono - 1,071 :Tina Martin - 732 ;Ward 4 (

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 ...

) :(incumbent)

Art Eggleton Arthur C. Eggleton (born September 29, 1943) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 59th and longest-serving mayor of Toronto from 1980 to 1991. He was elected to Parliament in 1993, running as a Liberal in York Centre and served a ...

- 4,961 :(incumbent)

George Ben George Ben (September 5, 1925 – December 17, 1978) was an Ontario lawyer and political figure. He represented Bracondale and then Humber in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1965 as a Liberal member until his defeat in the 1971 provi ...

- 3,402 :

Joe Pantalone Joe Pantalone (born February 22, 1952) is a retired Canadian politician. He served as a former Toronto city councillor for Ward 19, one of two wards in Trinity—Spadina and as deputy mayor under David Miller from 2003 to 2010. He ran for mayor i ...

- 3,251 :John Medeiros - 1,844 :

Tony Ianno Anthony "Tony" Ianno (born 1957) is a businessman and a former Canadian politician. He served as a Liberal Party of Canada MP representing Trinity—Spadina (1993–2006) and Minister of Families and Caregivers (2004–06). Personal life Bor ...

- 1,807 :Bill Moniz - 1,398 :Manuel Alves - 671 :Robert Taddeo - 547 :Joe Pimental - 341 :Manuel Garcia - 330 ;Ward 5 (

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 ...

and Yorkville) :(incumbent) Ying Hope - 11,870 :(incumbent) Susan Fish - 11,505 :Frank Severino - 2,056 ;Ward 6 (

Financial District, Toronto The Financial District is the central business district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was originally planned as New Town in 1796 as an extension of the Town of York (later the St. Lawrence Ward). It is the main financial district in Tor ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

) :(incumbent)

Allan Sparrow Allan Sparrow (1944 – April 30, 2008) was a Canadian political activist and long standing city councillor in Toronto. He was instrumental in stopping the Spadina Expressway, setting up civilian oversight of the Toronto Police, promoting cyclin ...

- 8,029 :(incumbent) Dan Heap - 7,514 :Dan Richards - 6,421 :Rose Smith - 2,785 :Joe Martin - 1,143 ;Ward 7 (

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 Riverdale) :

Gordon Cressy Gordon Cressy (born 1943) is a former Canadian politician, who served on Toronto City Council from 1978 to 1982."Gordon Cressy fonds", City of Toronto Archives. Background Cressy was born in 1943 in Toronto, and attended Lawrence Park Collegiate ...

- 11,869 :(incumbent)Janet Howard - 9,533 :George Patton - 4,258 :Randall Parsons - 837 :Charles Rolfe - 573 :Steve Necheff - 483 ;Ward 8 ( Riverdale) :(incumbent)

- 7,997 :(incumbent) Thomas Clifford - 7,205 :Charlotte Stuart - 5,097 :Chris Toutounis - 2,933 :Beatrice Zeveruche - 691 :Louis Kostan - 493 :Jim McMillan - 376 :Vincent Corriero - 267 :Elizabeth Parsons - 253 :Alex Yaung - 189 ;Ward 9 (

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 ...

) :(incumbent)Pat Sheppard - 9,248 :(incumbent)Tom Wardle, Jr. - 8,815 :Brian Fullerton - 7,489 :Bruce Budd - 7,113 :Sharon Meecham - 2,366 :Charles Martin - 396 ;Ward 10 ( Rosedale and

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 ...

) :(incumbent)

June Rowlands June Rowlands (née Pendock; May 14, 1924 – December 21, 2017) was a Canadian politician who was the 60th mayor of Toronto from 1991 to 1994. She was the first woman to serve as Toronto's mayor. Rowlands also served as a city councillor and wa ...

- 15,790 :Andrew Paton - 14,980 :Harvey Dyck - 8,911 :Neil Agnoo - 640 ;Ward 11 ( Forest Hill and

) :(incumbent)

Anne Johnston Anne Johnston (1932 – June 26, 2019) was a Canadian politician and community activist. She was a longtime city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1972, and served until 1985 when she ran ag ...

- 14,996 :Michael Gee - 11,395 : Kay Gardner - 8,485 :Eunice Grayson - 6,115 :Dennis Hunt - 1,388

By-elections

Ward 4 Alderman

died on December 17, 1978. A by-election was held on February 26, 1979: :

: 4,699 :

- 4,361 :Tony Marchese - 413 :Mike Lotosky - 87 :Richard Sanders - 40

East York

Mayor

Alan Redway Alan Redway, (born 11 March 1935) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician. After a career in municipal politics culminating in the role of mayor of East York, a borough of Metropolitan Toronto, Redway entered federal politics. He was elect ...

(acclaimed)

Etobicoke

Mayor

:(incumbent)

Dennis Flynn Christopher Dennis Flynn (according to Irish Civic Birth Registration, his name was Denis Christopher O'Flynn at birth) O.Ont, (December 17, 1923 – August 19, 2003) was Chairman of Metropolitan Toronto from 1984 to 1988. Flynn rarely used ...

- 46,680 :Terry Howes - 12,903 :Alexander Masur - 4,941 (783 out of 815 polls)

Board of Control

(four to be elected) :(incumbent)Bill Stockwell - 48,336 :(incumbent) Bruce Sinclair - 39,525 :(incumbent)Nora Pownall - 35,888 :

Morley Kells Morley Kells (born January 26, 1936) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on two separate occasions from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1995 to 2003, and was bri ...

- 35,786 :(incumbent)E. H. (Pete) Farrow - 31,067 (783 out of 815 polls)

North York

Mel Lastman Melvin Douglas Lastman (March 9, 1933 – December 11, 2021) was a Canadian businessman and politician who served as the third mayor of North York from 1973 to 1997 and 62nd mayor of Toronto from 1998 to 2003. He was the first person to serve ...

was re-elected mayor receiving the most votes ever recorded for a North York mayor. Barbara Greene, Esther Shiner and Robert Yuill were re-elected to Board of Control with Irving Paisley taking the fourth seat. Greene received the most votes for a Board of Control member which carries the post of deputy mayor. Some analysts thought that her chances of retaining the position may have been hurt by her becoming a single mother in the previous year. In the ward races, three incumbents were ousted including Mario Sergio over Gord Risk in Ward 1; Howard Moscoe over Murray Markin in Ward 4; and Mike Foster over Marilyn Meshberg in Ward 5. Elinor Caplan won in ward 13 to replace Mike Smith who retired from council.Many of the vote totals are listed from incomplete polling. None of the results were overturned when complete votes were tallied.

Mayor

:(incumbent)

- 83,811 :Perry Dane - 11,396 :Helena Obadia - 5,646

Board of Control

(four to be elected) :(incumbent) Barbara Greene - 57,808 :(incumbent) Esther Shiner - 55,429 :(incumbent) Robert Yuill - 44,748 :Irving Paisley - 34,648 :Ron Summers - 34,514 :Alex McGivern - 33,602 :Harvey Haber - 18,228 :Paul Wizman - 14,221 :Doreen Leitch - 9,791 :Gino Vatri - 9,729 :Sheena Suttaby - 6,049

Council

;Ward 1 : Mario Sergio - 2,224 :(incumbent)Gord Risk - 1,945 :Sheila Lambrinos - 1,468 ;Ward 2 :(incumbent)

Mario Gentile Mario Gentile (b. 1948 or 1949-) is a former municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He served as a councillor and city controller in North York, and was also a member of the Metropolitan Toronto council. His political career ended with ...

- 5,155 :Rocco Cossidente - 1,332 ;Ward 3 :(incumbent)Pat O'Neill - 2,915 :Peter Pallotta - 1,882 :Derek Warner - 806 :Roy Wilcox - 325 ;Ward 5 :Michael Foster - 3,877 :(incumbent)Marilyn Meshberg - 3,620 :Amerigo Petruzzo - 1,430 :Judy Taylor - 594 ;Ward 6 :(incumbent)Milton Berger - Acclaimed ;Ward 7 :(incumbent)Irving Chapley - 5,218 :Jack Bedder - 2,447 ;Ward 8 :(incumbent) Alan Heisey - Acclaimed ;Ward 9 :(incumbent)

Norman Gardner Norman "Norm" Gardner (born February 13, 1938) is a politician and administrator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a former North York and Toronto City Councillor, serving most recently as chair of the Toronto Police Services Board (1998–200 ...

- 5,914 :Morry Smith - 3,526 ;Ward 10 :(incumbent)Marie Labatte - 4,689 :Allan Payne - 1,663 ;Ward 11 :(incumbent)Peter Clarke - 3,853 :Shirley Scaife - 3,465 :Howard Cohen - 714 ;Ward 12 :(incumbent)Barry Burton - 4,238 :Gus Cusimano - 2,143 :Norman Brudy - 1,098 ;Ward 13 :

Elinor Caplan Elinor Caplan (born May 20, 1944) is a businesswoman and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1997, and was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004 ...

- 4,416 :Dan Pickett - 2,057 :Paul McCann - 782 :Alec Davis - 733 :Bernadette Michael - 324 :Sudhi Shankar Menon - 166 ;Ward 14 :(incumbent)Betty Sutherland - Acclaimed

Public school trustee

;Ward 1 :Jo Treasure - 1,463 :Jack Sweet - 1,365 ;Ward 2 :Peg Grant - Acclaimed ;Ward 3 :Peggy Gemmell - 1,176 :Elizabeth Smith - 1,170 :Bev Folkes - 640 ;Ward 4 :Else Chandler - 2,970 :Ben Treos - 644 :Sherland Chhangur - 288 ;Ward 5 :George McCleary - Acclaimed ;Ward 6 :Frances Chapkin - 2,144 :Zale Newman - 965 :Ian Lovatt - 881 :Robert Howse - 716 :Peter Beecham - 334 :Vladimir Machlis - 126 ;Ward 7 :Mae Waese - 2,654 :Adam Fuerstenberg - 2,121 :Leon Stalner - 971 :Alan Simons - 840 :Morley Philips - 761 :Charles Stewart - 375 ;Ward 8 :Marilyn Knowles - 2,586 :Diane Betts - 1,946 :John Buttrick - 617 :Charles Kasner - 483 :Judy Mandel - 265 :Phil Reeve - 250 :Morris Atlas - 151 ;Ward 9 :Neil Strauss - 3,704 :Harold Koehler - 2,877 :George Hamell - 1,265 :Irwin Krakowsky - 357 ;Ward 10 :Sybil Darnell - 2,306 :William Gruber - 1,357 :David Reed - 1,330 ;Ward 11 :Marion Gordon - 3,733 :Edward Reiken - 994 :George Malner - 844 :Ken Stagg - 716 ;Ward 12 :Ken Crowley - 3,724 :Althea Collins-Poulos - 1,093 ;Ward 13 :Lawrence Krackower - 2,844 :Gerald Wiseman - 1,905 :Ralph Benner - 1,725 :Victoria Sibila - 392 ;Ward 14 :Martin Park - 3,964 :Serj Assadourian - 1,063

Hydro Commission

(two to be elected) :Bill Sutherland - 41,561 :Carl Anderson - 28,750 :Paul Adler - 21,904 :D'Arcy McConvey - 18,907 :Mollie Goodbaum - 15,189 :Norman Baird - 12,984 :David Horwood - 7,065 :Nicholas Tryphonopoulos - 5,350

Scarborough

Gus Harris won his first term as mayor defeating interim mayor Ken Morrish by 3,000 votes. Morrish was appointed interim mayor after

Paul Cosgrove Paul James Cosgrove, (born December 30, 1934), is a former Canadian jurist as well as a former politician. Cosgrove is, as of , the last surviving mayor of the former city of Scarborough. Political career A lawyer by profession, Cosgrove ente ...

resigned to run federally. Incumbent controllers Brian Harrison, Joyce Trimmer and Frank Faubert were all re-elected while alderman Carol Ruddell took the fourth spot. Shirley Eidt returned to council after beating one term alderman Brian Brazier. Newcomers include Wally Majesky (Ward 2), Alan Robinson (Ward 5), and Maureen Prinsloo (Ward 10).

Mayor

: Gus Harris - 33,483 :(incumbent) Ken Morrish - 29,908 :Ron Watson - 13,822 :Lois James - 4,241 :Donald Lunny -2.404

Board of Control

(Four to be elected) :(incumbent)Brian Harrison - 50,728 :(incumbent)

Joyce Trimmer Joyce Trimmer (November 10, 1927 – May 17, 2008) was a Canadian politician. She was the first woman mayor of Scarborough, Ontario. Born in London, England, Trimmer emigrated to Toronto with her husband Douglas in 1954, where they settled ...

- 44,502 :Carol Ruddell - 42,299 :(incumbent)Frank Faubert - 39,897 :Bob Watson - 28,121 :Jim Bryers - 22,594 :John Tsopelas - 9,768 :Greg McGroarty - 9,218

Council

;Ward 1 :(incumbent)Bill Belfontaine - 5,326 :Doug Varsey - 2,067 ;Ward 2 :Wally Majesky - 2,736 :Don MacMillan - 2,374 :Gordon McMillen - 993 :Doug Springhope - 838 ;Ward 3 :(incumbent)

Norm Kelly Norman Kelly (born August 11, 1941) is a retired Canadian politician. He represented Ward 40 Scarborough—Agincourt from 2000 to 2018–serving as acting mayor of Toronto for the period November 18, 2013 to July 1, 2014–was a City of Scarb ...

- Acclaimed ;Ward 4 :(incumbent)Jack Goodlad - Acclaimed ;Ward 5 : Alan Robinson - 2,465 :Gord Ashberry - 2,113 :Don Hillard - 1,203 ;Ward 6 :(incumbent)Frederick Bland - 4,562 :Joe Zammit - 2,326 ;Ward 7 :(incumbent) Ed Fulton - 4,359 :Joe Crowley - 2,530 :Elizabeth McKenzie - 1,938 ;Ward 8 :Shirley Eidt - 4,137 :(incumbent)Tom Brazier - 3,738 ;Ward 9 :(incumbent)Doug Colling - Acclaimed ;Ward 10 : Maureen Prinsloo - 2,991 :Harry Murphy - 1,845 :Scott MacPherson - 1,405 :Arne Boye - 749 :Larry Calcutt - 622 :Ken Wayne - 382 ;Ward 11 :(incumbent)John Wimbs - Acclaimed ;Ward 12 :(incumbent)Joe DeKort - 3,823 :Jack Heads - 967

York

In the borough of York, Gayle Christie defeated Philip White who had been Mayor since 1969. ;Mayor : Gayle Christie 15,732 : Philip White 14,050 :Douglas Saunders 8,322 ;Board of Control (2 elected) :

Fergy Brown James Fergus Brown (31 October 1923 – 3 April 2013) was a politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He served as Mayor of York from 1988 to 1994. Background Brown was born in Scotland, and moved to the neighbourhood of Mount Dennis in York, To ...

(Acclaimed) :

Alan Tonks Alan Tonks (born April 2, 1943) 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 Toront ...

(Acclaimed) ;Ward 1 :Ben Nobleman (Acclaimed) ;Ward 2 :Oscar Kogan 1,429 :Tony Mandarano 1,326 :Marvin Gordon 351 :Deanna Michael 243 ;Ward 3 :Ron Bradd 2,217 :Nino D'Apria 1,762 ;Ward 4 :Patrick Canavan 1,106 :Cillard Ward 1,045 :Enzo Ragno 744 ;Ward 5 :

Chris Tonks Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

2,330 :Hilde Zimmer 1,176 ;Ward 6 :Lois Lane 2,520 :Lloyd Sainsbury 2,250 :Buzz Fedunchak 1,056 ;Ward 7 : John Nunziata 2,019 :Don Kendal 1,843 :Harold Stuart 1,051 :Mario Ruffolo 981 :Alex Dulkewych 415

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toronto Municipal Election, 1978 1978 1978 elections in Canada 1978 in Toronto