Sudbury municipal election, 1950

The 1950 Sudbury municipal election was held on December 4, 1950, as voters in Sudbury, Ontario and its outlying communities voted to elect mayors, alderman, school trustees, the hydro commissioner and the reeve of McKim Township. In addition the voters were asked to decide on three propositions, whether to allow Sunday sport, ash collection and a two-year term for municipal elections.

At this time the city was divided into three wards; Fournier, McCormick and Ryan. Three aldermen were elected for each ward. They were selected by choosing the top three contestants with the highest number of recorded ballots (i.e those contestants who place first, second and third).

The municipal election of 1950 represented the start of a key shift in the demographic of city council. It was in this election that citizens of Sudbury elected two women to serve as alderman for the first time in the city’s history. They were Grace Hartman, who would later become the city's first woman mayor, and Dr. Faustina Kelly Cook.

On an interesting side note, William S. Beaton, the incumbent, ran against Peter Fenton, the mayor of Sudbury from 1930 to 1932.

Results

The results are taken from the December 5, 1950 edition of the Sudbury Daily Star.

City of Sudbury Election Results, 1950 [1]
Mayoral Contest
Candidate Votes
Adv. Polls Fournier Ward McCormick Ward Ryan Ward Total
BEATON (elected) 15 718 1579 2009 4321
Whissell 11 1705 748 1176 3640
Fenton 14 269 719 869 1871
Aldermanic Contest
Fournier Ward McCormick Ward Ryan Ward
Candidate Votes Candidate Votes Candidate Votes
LAMOUREUX (elected) 1944 HARTMAN (elected) 2238 THOMPSON (elected) 2568
COOK (elected) 1434 BARLOW (elected) 1867 COE (elected) 1916
GODIN (elected) 1010 MONAGHAN (elected) 1219 ANDERSON (elected) 1553
Campeau 843 Furchner 1148 McNeill 1442
Theriault 748 O’Neil 529 Germa 1264
Cler 308 Nesbit 673
Plebiscites
Sunday Sport
Decision Votes
Adv. Polls Fournier Ward McCormick Ward Ryan Ward Total
NO (decided) 22 1578 2117 2637 6354
Yes 19 976 858 1264 3117
Two Year Term
Decision Votes
Adv. Polls Fournier Ward McCormick Ward Ryan Ward Total
NO (decided) 35 1742 2429 2998 7204
Yes 5 594 620 788 2007
Ash Collection
Decision Votes
Adv. Polls Fournier Ward McCormick Ward Ryan Ward Total
NO (decided) 29 1846 2002 2814 6691
Yes 12 637 838 1023 2510
Hydro Commission
Candidate Votes
Adv. Polls Fournier Ward McCormick Ward Ryan Ward Total
LANDREVILLE (elected) 21 2180 1283 1946 5439
Dash 20 442 1728 1961 4151
McKim Township
for Reeve
Candidate Votes
Gatchel New Sudbury Minnow Lake Lockerby Total
SOMERS, M.E. (elected) 187 315 866 212 1580
Miller, Geo. F. 723 156 192 368 1439

References

  1. The Sudbury Daily Star. (December 5, 1950) p.7