George Ben (September 5, 1925 – December 17, 1978) was an

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 Ca ...

lawyer and political figure. He represented

Bracondale Bracondale was a provincial electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 to 1967. The constituency got its name from an old Toronto suburb called Bracondale, that was annexed b ...

and then

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1965 as a

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 ...

member until his defeat in the 1971 provincial election. Ben was a member of

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 cur ...

in the early 1960s, representing Ward 5, and returned to council in the 1972 municipal election. He was re-elected for the final time in 1978, and died in office on December 17, 1978.

Background

Ben was born in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, the son of John Ben. Ben was educated 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 ancho ...

, at 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 ...

and was trained as lawyer at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

. He served 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 ...

in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

as a gunner in a bomber. In 1952, he married Ruby Elizabeth Hall.

Politics

Ben was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1962, representing Ward 5, placing first, which meant he was also concurrently a member of Metropolitan Toronto Council. In 1964, he ran for Toronto's Board of Control, but lost. In 1965, after the death of Liberal MPP Joseph Gould, he won the

Liberal Party of Ontario The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

's nomination for the Bracondale constituency. He won the September 15 by-election, becoming the last MPP from Bracondale, as the constituency was redistributed out of existence for the 1967 Ontario general election. He decided to run in the Humber constituency in 1967, which did not contain any part of his previous one. The constituency was located in Toronto's west-end, incorporating the old village of Swansea, parts of Etobiocke, and the City of York. He was up against a three-term

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...

incumbent, Bev Lewis – the former five-term Reeve of the old Etobicoke Township. Ben won a very tight race, but not as was expected. He unseated Lewis, but the real surprise was that the incumbent came in third place. Ben narrowly defeated

New Democratic Party of Ontario The Ontario New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario; abbr. ONDP or NDP) is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following t ...

(NDP) candidate Kealey Cummings by 148 votes.

Later life

In 1978, Ben ran again for Toronto City Council in Ward 4, approximately the southern portion of his old Bracondale constituency's boundaries. In the November council elections, he placed second to future Toronto mayor

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 as ...

, making him the junior alderman for the ward. Only about a month later, Ben had a heart attack and died in St. Joseph's hospital on December 17. His death forced the adjournment of the next-day's council meeting. His funeral was on December 20, attended by three former mayors and most of city council. The City of Toronto named a parkette for him, the George Ben parkette in his old neighbourhood. Ben is interred in the

Park Lawn Cemetery Park Lawn Cemetery is a large cemetery in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It currently has around 22,000 graves. It is managed by the Park Lawn Limited Partnership, which also runs five other cemeteries in Toronto. The cemetery ...

in Etobicoke.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben, George 1925 births 1978 deaths Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Toronto city councillors