William Boytchuk (April 27, 1922 – January 22, 1998) was a longtime city councillor 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
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
.
He was born near
Sniatyn,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and after spending several years in Germany immigrated to Canada in 1948. Working as a pharmacist he became active in the local Ukrainian committee.
Boytchuk was elected to city council in the
1969 election representing the westernmost part of the Old City of Toronto covering
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 ...
. He was considered one of the council's "Old Guard" of conservative, generally pro-development councillors but became more moderate over his time in office. During the
Cold War he was also notable for his strong anti-Soviet policies. He played a central role in having a monument to the
Katyn Massacre
The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...
erected in his ward. In 1990 he also led the effort to oppose a
sister city
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
agreement with
Volgograd
Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...
.
["Debate rages, again, over Soviet twin city Toronto urged not to team up with Volgograd."
Susan Reid. ''Toronto Star.'' Feb 13, 1990. pg. A.6]
In the
1976 election Boytchuk lost his seat in a surprise upset to left winger David White. He thus decided to run provincially for the Progressive Conservatives in the
1977 Ontario election for the riding of
High Park—Swansea
High Park—Swansea was a provincial riding (electoral district) in the west-end of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1999.
It was created during the 1975 riding redist ...
. He lost that race in a close contest to NDP incumbent
Ed Ziemba. With the retirement of
Elizabeth Eayrs
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sc ...
, the other councillor in his old seat, Boytchuk returned to council in 1978. He continued to represent his west end seat until he retired in 1994.
In 1964, he served as the president of the
National Soccer League until the 1968 season.
References
{{reflist
Toronto city councillors
1922 births
1998 deaths
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidates in Ontario provincial elections
Soccer people from Ontario
Polish emigrants to Canada