J. Louis Shannon (died February 16, 1954) 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 who served for multiple years on

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 ...

and 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 ...

. Shannon was raised in

Vankleek Hill Vankleek Hill is a town in Champlain Township in Eastern Ontario. It has a population of 1,996. The town was named after Simeon Vankleek, a United Empire Loyalist who settled there near the end of the 18th century. The agricultural-based communi ...

where his father was the editor of small newspaper. Shannon's father died when he was seven and the family relocated to Toronto where he studied at

Oakwood Collegiate Institute Oakwood Collegiate Institute (commonly known as OCI or Oakwood) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the neighbourhoods of Regal Heights, Oakwood-Vaughan and Bracondale Hill. History and Alumni Oakwood was foun ...

. He then went to

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

where he studied law. He settled in the Rosedale neighbourhood of the city. He was elected to Toronto City Council in 1937 representing Ward 2. This ward covered both Shannon's own neighbourhood of Rosedale, one of the wealthiest parts of the city, and the areas along the Don River, including Cabbagetown that were some of the poorest. Shannon was an active member of the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...

, and was a strong advocate of Toronto's

Blue Laws Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws and Sunday closing laws, are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reasons ...

, such as the ban on playing sports on Sunday. He was also committed to social welfare, and pushed at city council for a number of measures to alleviate poverty. These included child care for working mothers and health clinics in the poorer neighbourhoods. He was also one of the foremost proponents of the

Regent Park Regent Park is a neighbourhood located in downtown Toronto, Ontario built in the late 1940s as a public housing project managed by Toronto Community Housing. It sits on what used to be a significant part of the Cabbagetown neighbourhood and i ...

urban renewal scheme that saw much of Cabbagetown replaced by subsidized housing. He was an active Liberal, and served as campaign manager for fellow Liberal

Allan Lamport Allan Austin Lamport, (April 4, 1903 – November 18, 1999) was mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 1951 to 1954. Known as "Lampy", his most notable achievement was his opposition to Toronto's Blue laws which banned virtually any activ ...

. In 1940 he unsuccessfully ran for Parliament in the riding of Rosedale, but lost to

Harry Jackman Henry Rutherford "Harry" Jackman, (November 5, 1900 – November 22, 1979) was a Canadian politician and successful entrepreneur. In 1973, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Life and career Jackman represented the electoral dis ...

in the traditionally Tory riding. In February 1954 Shannon suffered a heart attack and died ten days later at age 56.

References

*"Con. Shannon Dies, Aged 56, Ill Ten Days." ''Toronto Daily Star''. February 16, 1954. pg. 1 *"A Fine Citizen Gone." ''Toronto Daily Star''. February 17, 1954. Toronto city councillors 1954 deaths Year of birth missing Candidates in the 1940 Canadian federal election Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons {{Ontario-politician-stub