Joseph M. Gould, (August 22, 1911 – May 8, 1965) was a Canadian politician in

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 ...

. He was 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 of 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 1959 to 1965 who represented the downtown

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 ...

riding of

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 ...

. He was a municipal alderman for Ward 5 in the 1950s. He died in office at age 53.

Background

One of five children, he was born in

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to Russian-Jewish immigrants. His father, Zusha Goled was a tailor and cantor. He or his parents changed his name to Jacob Gold after he entered the United States at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

. His mother, Henyagitel (Annie) walked across Europe from Russia to take a boat to join her husband in New York. Along with his parents and older brother Max, the family moved from the Lower East side to the cleaner air of Toronto. Gould was captain of the

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgoode, ...

debating team 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 ...

. He practised

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

and entered politics at a time when restrictive practices posed numerous challenges and he changed his name from Gold to the more Anglo-Saxon Gould. Gould was married to Esther Freeman. They had three children Stephen, Marshall and Corrine. Stephen is a graduate of

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, an associate professor, and director of the Educational Leadership PhD program at

Lesley University Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of 2018-19 Lesley University enrolled 6,593 students (2,707 undergraduate and 3,886 graduate). History ...

in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Marshall is a writer in Toronto. Corrinne is the owner of Esther Gould's Finest, a Toronto business based on her mother's mandelbread recipe.

Politics

Gould was a revered member of the community, a tireless fighter for the "little man" and appointed as a Queen's Counsel (QC). He ran for the Liberal party in the provincial St. Patrick electoral district in the June 4, 1945

Ontario general election This article provides a summary of results for the general elections to the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario's unicameralism, unicameral Legislature, legislative body, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The number ...

, placing second to Progressive Conservative

Kelso Roberts Archibald Kelso Roberts (September 11, 1898 – October 8, 1970) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1943 to 1948 and again from 1951 to 1967. Both times he r ...

. In 1950, he was elected as an Alderman, representing Ward 5 in the old City of Toronto. He represented Ward 5 until 1955. In the

1959 Ontario general election The 1959 Ontario general election was held on June 11, 1959, to elect the 98 members of the 26th Legislative Assembly of Ontario (Members of Provincial Parliament, or "MPPs") of the Province of Ontario. The Ontario Progressive Conservative Part ...

, he ran for the Liberal Party again, this time in the

electoral district, which was near Ward 5. He defeated the incumbent MPP, Progressive Conservative Arthur Frost, and would remain the MPP for this district until his death in 1965. Gould was a candidate in the 1964 Ontario Liberal leadership convention. His candidacy was supported by

Paul Hellyer Paul Theodore Hellyer (August 6, 1923 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian engineer, politician, writer, and commentator. He was the List of current members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada#St. Laurent, longest serving member of the Quee ...

who represented part of Gould's riding in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

Death

When Gould died, he did so coincidentally a few hours after Frost, the man he defeated to become Bracondale's MPP. Both men died on May 8, 1965.

George Ben George Ben (September 5, 1925 – December 17, 1978) was an Ontario lawyer and political figure. He represented Bracondale and then Humber in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1965 as a Liberal member until his defeat in the 1971 provi ...

, the Liberal Party candidate that ran to succeed him, won Gould's seat in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, and became that riding's last MPP, as Bracondale was abolished and redistributed into two adjacent electoral districts for the 1967 Ontario general election. When he died, Gould was married to Esther Gould. They had three children, who were in their mid-teens to early twenties at the time of his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, Joseph 1911 births 1965 deaths Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Toronto city councillors Canadian King's Counsel