Sylvia Watson is a former

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. She was a

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 ...

lor for Ward 14 Parkdale-High Park from 2003 to 2006 and the candidate for the

Ontario Liberal Party 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 ...

in the 2006

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 in the 2007 general election.

Background

Watson and her family immigrated to Canada when she was a child as

displaced person Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

following

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 ...

. The family settled in Toronto. She studied at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

and

Osgoode 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 Law ...

and was called to the bar in 1981. She became corporate counsel for

Wellesley Hospital The Wellesley Hospital was a teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada affiliated with the University of Toronto. It was founded by Dr. Herbert Bruce as a private hospital, but became publicly operated in 1942. History The Wellesley Hospita ...

in 1986. In 1991 she was hired by the City of Toronto where she performed a number of roles including director of litigation and city solicitor.Sylvia Watson: Member
Landlord and Tenant Board, biography, last accessed September 24, 2011.

Municipal politics

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, Watson ran for city council in (Ward 14), Parkdale–High Park to replace retiring councillor

Chris Korwin-Kuczynski Chris Korwin-Kuczynski (born 1953) is a former Canadian municipal politician. He served as a councillor in Toronto from 1981 to 2003, and was the city's deputy mayor for a time. He was born in Toronto, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in pol ...

. Even though she didn't live in the ward, she was known for participating in an affordable housing initiative called the ''Parkdale Pilot Project''. She beat her nearest rival, Ed Zielinski (who was endorsed by Korwin-Kuczynski) by 3,988 votes. During her three years as councillor, she chaired the Administration Committee, and served as vice-chair of the Budget Advisory Committee.

Provincial politics

By-election, 2006

On June 27, 2006, Watson announced that she would run in a provincial by-election to replace Gerrard Kennedy who was moving on to federal politics. Watson based her campaign on the Liberal government's record of investing in education and health care but acknowledged that she was in a tight race considering that the provincial riding encompassed only half her former city riding. The campaign became contentious when the Liberals issued a press release claiming that NDP rival, United Church minister Cheri DiNovo had compared the media treatment of

Karla Homolka Karla Leanne Homolka (born May 4, 1970), also known as Karla Leanne Teale, Leanne Teale, and Leanne Bordelais, is a Canadian serial killer who acted as an accomplice to her husband, Paul Bernardo, taking active part in the actual rapes and murde ...

as "comparable to the persecution of Jesus Christ." DiNovo won the election by 2,288 votes.

Provincial general election, 2007

On May 11, 2007, the Liberals nominated Watson to stand again as their candidate in Parkdale—High Park for the

2007 Ontario election The 2007 Ontario general election was held on October 10, 2007, to elect members (Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario), MPPs) of the 39th Legislative Assembly of Ontario, 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liber ...

. She was again defeated by DiNovo, this time by an increased margin.

After politics

As of 2011, Watson is employed as an adjudicator for the provincial Landlord and Tenant Board.

Electoral record

2003 Toronto Election, Ward 14,

References

External links

City of Toronto councillor biography (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Sylvia Living people Ontario Liberal Party candidates in Ontario provincial elections Toronto city councillors Women in Ontario politics Women municipal councillors in Canada Year of birth missing (living people)