Margaret Campbell (politician)
| Margaret Campbell | |
|---|---|
| MPP for St. George | |
| In office 1973–1981 | |
| Preceded by | Allan Lawrence |
| Succeeded by | Susan Fish |
| City Councillor for Ward 2 (Regent Park and Rosedale) with May Birchard[nb 1] | |
| In office 1958–1962 | |
| Preceded by | William Dennison & May Birchard |
| Succeeded by | Michael Grayson and May Birchard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Margaret Baird December 15, 1912 Toronto, Ontario |
| Died | April 19, 1999 (aged 86) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Sterling Campbell |
Margaret Campbell (December 15, 1912 – April 19, 1999) was a municipal and provincial politician from Toronto, Canada.
Background
Born Margaret Baird she was raised in Rosedale and attend Bishop Strachan School, University College and then Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the bar in 1937. She married American film maker and aviator Sterling Campbell in 1942. During the Second World War she worked in counter-intelligence for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Her son Sterling Campbell served a term as a Liberal MPP from Sudbury. Campbell had two daughters, Penelope (Bartok) and Susan (Makela).
Municipal politics
Sterling ran for city council in the 1956 elections, but was unsuccessful. In the next city elections she ran herself, and was victorious in Ward 2. In the 1960 election she finished first in the ward, entitling her a position on Metro Council in addition to the Toronto seat. In 1966 she became the second woman[nb 2] to win a seat on the four member Board of Control and became the city's budget chief. In the 1969 election she ran for mayor, attempting to become the first female mayor of the city. Her opponents were the NDP linked incumbent William Dennison and the official Liberal candidate Stephen Clarkson. Campbell had been a member of the Progressive Conservative party for many years. Her mayoral campaign was run on an explicitly reform platform, calling for an end to megaprojects and the adoption of Jane Jacobs styled urbanism as advocated by David Crombie. She finished second to Dennison, losing by some 13,000 votes.
Provincial politics
She briefly left politics to serve as a provincial court judge. When Allan Lawrence retired from the legislature and opened the provincial seat of St. George she resigned her judgeship and ran for the Ontario Liberal Party, leaving the Tory party. St. George had been a staunchly Tory seat for decades, and Campbell faced a prominent opponent in Roy McMurtry, but she was victorious becoming the first women elected to the Ontario Liberal Party. She represented the district until 1981, advocating on issues related to poverty, and in favour of women's and gay rights. She resigned her seat prior to the 1981 election so that she could spend more time with her ailing husband. In 1984, the Ontario Liberal Party established the Margaret Campbell Fund which supports female candidates who run for the party.[1]
References
Notes
- ↑ Wards elected two councillors. The one with the most votes was the senior councillor who also sat on Metro Council.
- ↑ The first was Jean Newman in 1956.
Citations
- ↑ "Owlc Fundraising:Margaret Campbell". Ontario Women's Liberal Commission. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
Other References
- Gollom, Mark. "Worked as lawyer, judge, politician, and spy: Fought for gay and women's rights starting in the 1970s." National Post. Don Mills, Ont.: Apr 26, 1999. pg. A.14
- "Obituary Margaret Campbell city councillor, MPP." Alan Barnes. Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont.: Apr 21, 1999. pg. 1