William Lee Archer, (1919–2005) was a Toronto politician and lawyer. Archer was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

, to William L. Archer, an Anglican minister, and Caroline MacGregor. After the death of his father the family moved to Toronto, where William found work at the age of 15 as an office boy before moving to the

Imperial Bank of Canada The Imperial Bank of Canada was a Canadian bank based in Toronto, Ontario, during the late 19th century and early 20th century. History It was founded in 1873 as the Imperial Bank in Toronto by Henry Stark Howland, former vice president of the C ...

, where he was a junior from 1937 until 1940, when he joined the

Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve (RNCVR). Foundation The RCNVR was created in 1923. The organization was established ...

. He became a sub-lieutenant in 1942 and retired as a lieutenant-commander at the end of

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 opposing ...

. He attended

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

following the war and then studied law 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 L ...

. He was called to be bar in 1953, became

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1962. In politics, Archer was active with the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

on the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and served as president of the national Progressive Conservative Youth Federation from 1947 to 1948. He was first elected to

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 c ...

for Ward 3 in 1958 and, as senior alderman for the ward, served on Metro Council as well. In 1963 he was appointed to 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 ...

to fill the vacancy created by

Donald Summerville Donald Dean Summerville (August 4, 1915 – November 19, 1963) was a Canadian politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Toronto from January 1963 until his death that same year. Early life and family Summerville was born in Toronto to Willi ...

's death. He was elected to the Board in his own right in the 1964 election. Archer ran for

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

in 1966 but was defeated by William Dennison. In 1969, he returned to City Council as alderman for Ward 5. He was elected Ward 6 alderman in 1972 but was defeated in the 1974 election. In 1975, the provincial government appointed Archer chair of the Niagara Region Study Review Commission. He later served on the Toronto Historical Board and, in 1997, received the Toronto Award of Merit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, William Lawyers in Ontario Toronto city councillors Metropolitan Toronto councillors 2005 deaths 1919 births Canadian King's Counsel 20th-century Canadian lawyers