Esther Shiner (February 12, 1924 – December 19, 1987) was a municipal politician in

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, Canada. She served on the

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 ...

city council from 1973 until her death, and was also a member of the

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council. She served as North York's

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in the 1980s.

Early life and career

Shiner's parents were

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish refugees from

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. She was raised in modest circumstances, and attended the

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

for a year before marrying and becoming a

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...

. Shiner was an active

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

, and was a member of Hadassah in her youth.

Municipal politician

Shiner was elected as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for North York's fourth ward in the 1972 municipal election. Her primary cause was the

Spadina Expressway William R. Allen Road, also known as Allen Road, the Allen Expressway and colloquially as the Allen, is a short expressway and arterial road in Toronto. It starts as a controlled-access expressway at Eglinton Avenue West, heading north to just ...

, which she wanted to extend as far as downtown Toronto. Shiner fought several battles with

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Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

on this issue, and unsuccessfully tried to have a city-wide

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on extension in 1985. The expressway was partly extended in the 1970s, but Davis blocked any further extensions. Shiner was elected to the North York Board of Control in 1976, and remained a member until her death. The position gave her an automatic seat on the Metropolitan Toronto Council. She served on Metro's transportation committee for several years, and was a frequent rival to fellow councillor

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 ...

. She was also appointed to the management board of the

O'Keefe Centre Meridian Hall is a major performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, and it is the country's largest soft-seat theatre. The facility was constructed for the City of Toronto municipal government and is currently managed by TO Live, an arms-le ...

for the Performing Arts in 1979, and remained a board member until 1986. Shiner supported the principle of amalgamation for Toronto's six municipal governments in 1978, on the grounds that it would yield a better transportation system. In 1982, she helped convince North York City Council to name a street after

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

diplomat Raoul Wallenburg, who is credited with saving the lives of over 100,000 Hungarian Jews in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Shiner held conservative views on several issues. She opposed councillor

Howard Moscoe Howard Moscoe (born November 28, 1939)https://gencat4.eloquent-systems.com/webcat/request/Action?SystemName=City+of+Toronto+Archives&UserName=wa+public&Password=&CMD_%28DetailRequest%29 &ProcessID=6000_1980%280%29&KeyValues=KEY_315373 is a former ...

's plan for campaign donation limits in 1984, arguing that it would be unworkable. She also criticized an affirmative action plan for North York employees, and suggested that a housing task force for the city could become an expensive waste of time. Shiner considered challenging

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 ...

for Mayor of North York in 1985, but declined. She died in December 1987, at age 63. The North York City Council held a moment of silence in her honour in January 1988, and the civic square carillons played "Moon River" and "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", two of her favourite songs. She was interred at Pardes Shalom Cemetery in Maple, Ontario. Later in the year, the North York Civic Stadium in the Bathurst and Finch area was renamed the

Esther Shiner Stadium Esther Shiner Stadium is a multi-purpose outdoor sports facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the former city of North York, on the north-west corner of Bathurst Street and Finch Avenue West. Its capacity is 3,00and is currently ...

."Stadium to be named for Shiner", ''The Globe and Mail'', 13 July 1988, A13. Her son, David Shiner, was a municipal politician in Toronto prior to the

2018 Toronto municipal election The 2018 Toronto municipal election was held on October 22, 2018, to elect a mayor and city councillors in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Registration for candidates for the office of mayor, councillor, and school board trustee opened on May 1, 20 ...

. A street in the Sheppard Avenue and Leslie Street area is named 'Esther Shiner Blvd.' in her honour.

Sources

*"Esther Shiner: North York politician earned wide respect" (obituary notice), ''The Globe and Mail'', 21 December 1987, A19.

Electoral record

Results taken from ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', 14 November 1985. The final results were not significantly different.
Electors could vote for four candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes. Results taken from ''

'', 9 November 1982.
The final results confirmed the election of Shiner, Greene, Yuill and Sutherland.
Electors could vote for four candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes. Results taken from the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', 11 November 1980.
The final results confirmed the election of Shiner, Yuill, Sutherland and Gardner.
Electors could vote for four candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes. Results taken from the ''

'', 14 November 1978.
The final results confirmed the election of Greene, Shiner, Yuill and Paisley.
Electors could vote for four candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes. Results taken from the ''

'', 6 December 1976.
The final results confirmed the election of Greene, Shiner, Summers and Yuill.
Electors could vote for four candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes. Results taken from the ''

'', 3 December 1974.
The final official results were not significantly different. Results taken from the ''

'', 5 December 1972.
These results obviously do not reflect the final totals. Shiner pulled ahead of Perry when the final eighteen polls were counted, and was listed in the next day's ''Star'' as winning by twelve votes, 2,326 to 2,314.

References

External Resources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiner, Esther 1924 births 1987 deaths Jewish Canadian politicians Women municipal councillors in Canada Women in Ontario politics Metropolitan Toronto councillors People from North York 20th-century Canadian women politicians Jewish women politicians