Toronto municipal election, 1954

Municipal elections were held in 'Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 6, 1954. Incumbent mayor Leslie Saunders was defeated by Nathan Phillips in a close contest.

Toronto mayor

Controller Leslie Saunders had been appointed mayor after the resignation of Allan Lamport, who left to work with the Toronto Transit Commission. He was challenged by Nathan Phillips, a longtime city councilor who had made a previous attempt to win the mayoralty. Phillips was Jewish, a sharp departure from the standard for Toronto mayors, who for decades had been Protestant Orange Order members.

Phillips' religion was an important issue in the election. Saunders publicly proclaimed he was running as "Leslie Saunders, Protestant". Saunders was a leader of the Orange Order and the publisher of the radical monthly newspaper Protestant Action. His anti-Catholicism and proclamations that Toronto was a "Protestant city" had caused controversy in the past. one of his first acts after ascending to the mayoralty was to issue an official proclamation commemorating The Twelfth, the anniversary of the victory of William of Orange over the Irish.

A second controversy arose during the election when Brown released accusation about room 1735 in the Fairmont Royal York hotel. He argued that the room was a secret entertainment suite paid for by the city for the use of the mayor. Saunders claims that it was rented by Mayor Lamport and that he was totally unaware of the suite. Nonetheless the scandal hurt his reelection bid.

Also running was former school board head Arthur Brown, who had previously come close to defeating Lamport for the job, and who had the support of the Globe and Mail newspaper. The Toronto Star and the Telegram both supported Phillips. Saunders in his memoirs accuses Brown of splitting the "Christian and Gentile vote" and getting Phillips elected.^[1]

Results: Nathan Phillips - 40,683; Leslie Saunders - 36,756; Arthur Brown - 36,613; Macleod - 4932

Board of Control

Saunders' appointment to the mayoralty led to the appointment of Alderman Ross Lipsett to the Board of Control. This controversially passed over former Alderman Joseph Cornish, who had finished fifth in the 1953 election. In the election, Cornish won more votes than Lipsett and got a seat on the board.

Results: Ford Brand (incumbent) - 69,540; Roy Belyea (incumbent) - 66,223; David Balfour (incumbent) - 62,871; Joseph Cornish - 55,277; Ross Lipsett (incumbent) - 45,385; Harry Bradley - 20,488; Harry Hunter - 14,114; Ben Nobleman - 9,413; George Rolland - 5,280

City council

Ward boundaries used in the 1954 election

Ward 1 (Riverdale): William Allen (incumbent) - 8,855; Ken Waters (incumbent) - 8,042; George Phillips - 2,282; Stanley Hare - 1,381; Thornley - 932

Ward 2 (Regent Park and Rosedale): William Dennison (incumbent) - 4,831; Edgar Roxborough (incumbent) - 4,479; Douglas Shaw - 2,268; C.M. Edwards - 1,551; Morrison - 669; Philip Rowley - 647

Ward 3 (West Downtown and Summerhill): Howard Phillips (incumbent) - acclaimed; John MacVicar (incumbent) - acclaimed

Phillips was chosen to become Metro Councillor.

Ward 4 (The Annex, Kensington Market and Garment District): Allan Grossman (incumbent) - 6,455; Herbert Orliffe (incumbent) - 5,345; Robert Laxer - 1,368; Bernard Levitt - 1,307; Blainey - 756

Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods and Little Italy): Philip Givens (incumbent) - 7,470; Joseph Gould (incumbent) - 6,770; Stewart Smith - 2,678; Teslia - 2,105

Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale): May Robinson (incumbent) - 11,349; Frank Clifton (incumbent) - 10,470; Grittani - 2,763; Hector MacArthur - 2,067; Tennant - 1,684; Muir - 1,561; Patrick McKeown - 1,039

Ward 7 (Bloor West Village): William Davidson (incumbent) - 6,228; John Kucherepa (incumbent) - 4,989; John Duncan - 3,951; John Weir - 1,915

Ward 8 (The Beaches): Donald Summerville - 10,002; Alex Hodgins (incumbent) - 8,327; Albert G. Cranham - 6,485; William Probert (incumbent) - 3,169; McNulty - 2,553; James Davis - 1,210; John Square - 384

Ward 9 (North Toronto): Jean Newman - 14,873; Leonard Reilly (incumbent) - 11,261; David Burt (incumbent) - 9,819; Frederick Vacher - 1,394

Results are taken from the December 7, 1954 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.

Outside Toronto

North York

Fred J. McMahon re-elected as reeve.

Scarborough

Robert E. Crockford re-elected as reeve.

References

↑ Leslie Howard Saunders. An Orangeman in public life: the memoirs of Leslie Howard Saunders. Britannia Printers, 1980 pg. 128

Election Coverage. Toronto Star. December 7, 1955
Nathan Phillips. Mayor of All the People McClelland and Stewart, 1967
Leslie Howard Saunders. An Orangeman in public life: the memoirs of Leslie Howard Saunders. Britannia Printers, 1980

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