List of mayors of Toronto

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David Miller launching "ICT Toronto".
David Miller launching "ICT Toronto".[1]

This is a list of mayors of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

From 1834-1857, and again from 1867-1873, Toronto mayors were not elected directly by the public. Instead, after each annual election of aldermen and councilmen, the assembled council would elect one of their members as mayor. For all other years, mayors were directly elected by popular vote, except in rare cases where a mayor was appointed by council to fill an unexpired term of office.

The "City of Toronto" has changed substantially over the years: the city amalgamated with neighbouring communities in 1882, 1891, 1908, 1912, and 1967.

The most sweeping change was in 1998 when the six municipalities comprising Metropolitan Toronto – East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York, and the former city of Toronto – and its regional government were amalgamated into a single City of Toronto (colloquially dubbed the "megacity") by an act of the provincial government.

The newly created position of mayor for the resulting single-tier megacity replaced all of the mayors of the former Metro municipalities. It also abolished the office of the Metro Chairman, which had formerly been the most senior political figure before amalgamation.

Outgoing North York Mayor Mel Lastman was elected as the first mayor of the amalgamated Toronto in 1997 and re-elected in 2000. On November 10, 2003, David Miller was voted in as Toronto's 63rd mayor. He took office as Mayor on December 1, 2003.

According to Victor Loring Russell, author of Mayors of Toronto Volume I, 14 out of the first 29 mayors were lawyers.

Prior to 1834, Toronto municipal leadership was governed by the Chairman of the General Quarter Session of Peace of the Home District Council.

Contents

[edit] 19th Century

[edit] Appointed by City Council

[edit] Elected directly by the public

[edit] Appointed by City Council

[edit] Elected directly by the public

[edit] 20th century

[edit] The Metro Toronto Era (1953-1997)

Beginning in 1953, Toronto was part of a regional entity known as "Metropolitan Toronto". This regional entity had the same boundaries as present-day Toronto, but consisted of 13 cities and boroughs, each which their own mayor and council. Toronto was one of these cities, and the mayors of Toronto are listed below. For a list of Chairmen of Metropolitan Toronto during this era, see Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto.


As of 1967, (during the incumbency of William Dennison), an internal amalgamation reduced the number of cities and boroughs in Metropolitan Toronto to 6: Toronto, East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, and York. As part of this reorganization, the villages of Forest Hill and Swansea were amalgamated into the City of Toronto. The Mayors of Toronto during this era are listed below.

[edit] Post-Amalgamation, "Megacity" Mayors

[edit] Deputy Mayors

[edit] References

  1. ^ What’s an ITC? Would like to live in a cluster of one? » ThomasPurves.com
  2. ^ January 1, 1998 marked the creation of the Amalgamated City of Toronto, which included the old City of Toronto, East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, and York.

[edit] See also