David Avoca Balfour (1889–1956) was a municipal politician in

Toronto, Ontario 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 ...

, Canada. He was active in civic politics from 1939 until 1955. This included twelve years on the Board of Control, a longer service than anyone prior. Balfour was born in Amherstburg, Ontario. His father was MPP and later

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (french: Président de l'Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Notable elections 1920 Nelson Parliament was a Liberal repre ...

William Balfour. Balfour joined his father in Toronto at age seven and was educated at De La Salle College. He went into business owning a stationery supply store and became active on the Separate School Board, serving there fifteen years. He was first elected to city council in 1939. Throughout his political career Balfour was strongly identified as representing the city's Roman Catholic population. There were then few Catholic elected officials in Toronto as municipal politics was dominated by those affiliated with the Protestant Orange Order. One of Balfour's main issues was

anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

. Balfour represented Ward 4 which stretched from University Avenue to Bathurst Street. It was home to

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 the area along Spadina Avenue home to the many factories of the garment industry. This area was home to many poor workers, and was also the centre of Toronto's large Jewish community. It was also the centre of the Canadian communist movement. During the 1940s several candidates affiliated with the communist

Labor-Progressive Party The Labor-Progressive Party (french: Parti ouvrier-progressiste) was the legal front of the Communist Party of Canada from 1943 to 1959. Origins and initial success In the 1940 federal election, the Communist Party led a popular front in se ...

were 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 ...

. After losing his seat in the 1943 election to communist J.B. Salsberg Balfour introduced a motion demanding Salsberg and fellow communist Stewart Smith be barred from taking their seats. The motion was ruled out of order by mayor Frederick J. Conboy. Another campaign that brought Balfour much attention was his attacks on what he termed "salacious literature and suggestive art." He demanded the federal government act to ban books he considered obscene, and would name such books in city council to warn citizens about them. Among his targets was ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Priz ...

'', '' Double Indemnity'', '' Forever Amber'', and ''

The Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label= Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Da ...

''. These campaigns brought Balfour much attention, both positive and negative, but had little effect. Fellow controller Hiram E. McCallum argued that Balfour naming salacious books had the effect of greatly increasing their sales."Balfour's Book Pile Grows." ''Toronto Star.'' Tuesday, April 22, 1947. pg. 2 On municipal issues Balfour had an important lasting impact on the city of Toronto. He was the primary advocate of the creation of a public square in the centre of the city, which became

Nathan Phillips Square 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 Tor ...

. He was also the main advocate for creating a system of one-way streets downtown and for the introduction of parking meters. He retired from politics due to ill health in 1955. He died the next year three weeks after suffering a heart attack. He had six children. One of his sons, Ronald, was killed in action in 1943.

References

*"David A. Balfour Passes." ''Toronto Star.'' December 3, 1956. {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, David Toronto city councillors 1956 deaths 1889 births