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 Board of Control of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was a part of its municipal government until it was abolished in 1969. It served as the executive committee of the Toronto City Council. When it was initially created in 1896 by mandate of the provin ...

, the municipality's executive body, from 1951 to 1958 and also an inaugural member of the

Metropolitan 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, whic ...

from the 1954 election until 1958. In the

1958 Toronto municipal election Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 1, 1958. Four year incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips won reelection against Controller Ford Brand, who was supported by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and Toronto Labo ...

he challenged incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips, but lost by 20,000 votes. He then served two five-year terms as a member of the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and larges ...

's board before retiring in 1970.

Career

He was a pressman by trade, working for Garden City Press in the 1930s, and specializing in colour covers. A trade unionist, he was president of the Toronto Labour Council in the 1940s, and then the labour council's secretary when he was elected to the Board of Control in 1951, after having been unsuccessful the year before. Unusually, he was able to win a seat on the powerful Board of Control despite never having been an alderman or held any other elected office,"Even with F.G. backing, Brand no cinch", Ron Haggart, Toronto Daily Star (1900–1971); Toronto, Ontario oronto, Ontario 13 Jan 1960: 7. winning the second position on the four member board. As a Metro councillor, he persuaded Metropolitan Toronto to build 2,000 units of

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

in the

Old City of Toronto Old Toronto is that part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that corresponds to the original City of Toronto which existed from 1834 to 1998. It was first incorporated as a city in 1834, after being known as the town of York, and being part of York ...

, rather than in the suburbs, arguing that public housing should be built where the need was greatest. After previously being a trusted ally of Phillips, Brand spontaneously decided to run against him at a March 1958 Metro Council meeting in which Phillips attempted to delay the construction of the housing, prompting Brand to tell Phillips in a speech at Metro Council that "I'm sick and tired of you coming over here and picking my brains and then using it against me," going on to announce his candidacy for mayor out of frustration with Phillips. After a testy campaign, Brand received 30,000 votes, behind Phillips's 53,000 votes. In his concession speech, Brand announced "I think this is the end of the road for me in politics. I won't have time because I'll be busy rehabilitating myself in the printing trade," he joked. "It's evident that labor didn't come out and vote for me," he added. Out of office, Brand turned down an offer of a position as a labour conciliator and instead entered the life insurance business. Brand was a supporter of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (the precursor or the New Democratic Party) and organised the party's riding association in

Parkdale (electoral district) Parkdale was a Canadian federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1979. It included the community of Parkdale in the western part of Toronto, Ontario. It was created in 1914 from Toronto West, and con ...

where he was the CCF's candidate in the 1945 Canadian federal election, placing third.

Assessment

He was described by the ''Toronto Star'' as "one of Toronto's toughest politicians" and an advocate for the poor."Politician Ford Brand defended Toronto's poor": IN Edition ''Toronto Star''; Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont3 July 1986: A12. In a 1970 editorial, the ''Toronto Star'' described Brand as having been "mayor in all but name" behind the scenes, while the cheerier and more sociable Mayor Phillips was performing the ceremonial duties of the job."Mayor we missed" (editorial), ''Toronto Daily Star'', Apr 2, 1970; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Toronto Star, pg. 6 He was described by the ''Star'' in a 1960 editorial as "always labour's intelligent spokesman, never its puppet" – one reason he lost the 1958 election was because

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

s turned against him after he supported declaring some municipal services "essential services" in which workers did not have the

right to strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the In ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brand, Ford 1904 births 1986 deaths Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Metropolitan Toronto councillors Toronto city councillors Toronto Transit Commission people Trade unionists from Ontario