1955 Toronto municipal election

Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 5, 1955. Incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips, elected a year earlier, was easily reelected, defeating Controller Roy E. Belyea and Trotskyist Ross Dowson.^[1]

Two referendums were held with the elections. One, which passed, was to extend the municipal term to two years. Previously elections had been held every year. There was also a vote on funding a new Toronto City Hall, which was rejected by voters.

Toronto mayor[edit]

Nathan Phillips was opposed for reelection after his first year in office by Board of Control member Roy E. Belyea, who had been a staunch opponent of Phillips during the year. Also running was Trotskyist Ross Dowson.

Results√^[1]: Nathan Phillips - 70,647; Roy E. Belyea - 26,717; Ross Dowson - 2,374

Plebiscites[edit]

Two questions appeared on the ballot. The first was on whether municipal terms of office should be extended to two years from one. The second was to authorize the construction of a proposed new city hall to replace the existing city hall, which had been built in 1899.^[2] The proposed structure, designed by a partnership of three leading Toronto architectural forms, would have been a conservative, symmetrical limestone-clad building in the Modernist style facing a landscaped square, and was widely criticized as "drab and boxy".^[3]

Two-year term^[4]: For - 48,024; Against - 33,688

Two-year terms would be put in place effective the 1956 Toronto municipal election.

New City Hall^[4]: For - 28,449; Against - 32,564

As a result of the rejection of the proposed structure, city council decided, in 1956, to hold an [international architectural design competition to find a better design. A proposal by Finnish architect Viljo Revell would be accepted. Construction of New City Hall began in 1961, and the building was officially opened on 13 September 1965.^[5]

Board of Control[edit]

There were two vacancies on the Board of Control after Roy E. Belyea's decision to run for mayor and Controller David Balfour's decision to retire. The most senior two Controllers in terms of votes also sat on Metro Toronto Council.

Results: Ford Brand (incumbent) - 59,264; Joseph Cornish (incumbent) - 55,162; William Allen - 53,455; Leslie Saunders - 46,528; Arthur Brown - 41,351; Harry Bradley - 14,802; Alex Hodgins - 13,503; Harry Hunter - 9,493; George Rolland - 3,923; George Stanton - 3,863

City council[edit]

Two aldermen were elected per Ward. The alderman with the most votes was declared Senior Alderman and sat on both Toronto City Council and Metro Council.

Ward 1 (Riverdale): Ken Waters (incumbent) - 6,945; George Phillips - 2,916; Fred Beavis - 2,828; Stanley Hare - 2,137; Christie - 1,403; Montgomery - 960; Basil Ingleby - 886; Jean Brown - 3,412

Ward 2 (Regent Park and Rosedale): William Dennison (incumbent) - 5,366; Edgar Roxborough (incumbent) - 4,051; May Birchard - 2,127; Douglas Shaw - 1,528; Philip Rowley - 683

Ward 3 (West Downtown and Summerhill): Ross Parry - 4,149; Howard Phillips (incumbent) - 2,802; John MacVicar (incumbent) - 2,260; Richard James - 1,737

Ward 4 (The Annex, Kensington Market and Garment District): Herbert Orliffe (incumbent) - 4,515; Francis Chambers - 3,746; David Rotenberg - 2,086; Robert Laxer - 1,073; Levitt - 824; John Anture - 386; Dorothy Cureatz - 362

Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods and Little Italy): Philip Givens (incumbent) - 5,605; Harold Menzies - 4,929; Teslia - 1,907; Paul Pauk - 1,228; Tennant - 1,140; Di Stasi - 872

Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale): May Robinson (incumbent) - 10,233; Frank Clifton (incumbent) - 9,473; Grittani - 2,797; George Jackson - 2,274

Ward 7 (Bloor West Village): William Davidson (incumbent) - 5,506; John Kucherepa (incumbent) - 4,993; Thomas Wilson - 2,124; William Repka - 653

Ward 8 (The Beaches): Donald Summerville (incumbent) - 13,139; Albert G. Cranham - 8,456; Brawley - 2,542; Chris Stavro - 1,682; Davis - 1,252; John Square - 529

Ward 9 (North Toronto): Jean Newman (incumbent) - 14,984; Frank Nash - 12,736; Waterfield - 3,101

Results are taken from the December 6, 1955 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.

Suburbs[edit]

Etobicoke, East York, Mimico, and Forest Hill elected their councils for two-year terms in 1954 and did not hold elections in 1955.

Leaside[edit]

Mayor: Charles H. Hiscott - 2,228; Joseph Banigan - 1,073

Hiscott defeated Councillor Joseph Bannigan to replace retiring mayor Howard Burrell

Source: "Suburban elections", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]06 Dec 1955: 13

Long Branch[edit]

Reeve: (incumbent)Marie Curtis (acclaimed)

New Toronto[edit]

Mayor: (incumbent)Donald R. Russell (acclaimed)

North York[edit]

Reeve: (incumbent)Fred J. McMahon - 16,269; Maurice T. Hook - 6,181

McMahon was re-elected, defeating his challenger Deputy Reeve Maurice T. Hook.

Source: "Fred McMahon Is Re-elected N. York Reeve", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]06 Dec 1955: 13

Scarborough[edit]

Reeve: Gus Harris - 14,304; (incumbent)Oliver E. Crockford - 10,178

Deputy Reeve: Albert Campbell - 15,369; George Baker - 8,521

Harris defeated the incumbent, Oliver Crockford

Source: "Suburban elections", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]06 Dec 1955: 13

Swansea[edit]

Reeve

(incumbent)Dorothy Hague (acclaimed)

Weston[edit]

Mayor

(incumbent)Harry Clark (acclaimed)

York[edit]

Reeve: (incumbent)Frederick W. Hall - 6,555; Walter Saunders - 6,256; Charles McMaster - 1,039; Norman Penner - 1,006

Source: "Few Brave Cold Rain To Vote in 3 Suburbs", Taylor, Ewart. The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]05 Dec 1955: 1

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b Star Staff (December 6, 1955). "Mayor Easy Winner Approve 2-Year Term New City Hall Lost". Toronto Daily Star. pp. 1, 14. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Ivanov, Andrej (September 17, 2016). "Sep 18, 1899: Old City Hall First Opens". Toronto Star. No. GT4.
^ "What City Hall might have looked like in Toronto". blogTO. August 16, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Hall, John (December 6, 1955). "$18,000,000 City Hall Rejected by Voters". The Globe & Mail. Toronto. p. 1. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via ProQuest.
^ Star Staff (September 14, 1965). "Whoosh, Bang – It's Open! P.S. There was confusion, too at City Hall". Toronto Daily Star. pp. 1, 10. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[Star1955_Election_Results-1] Star Staff (December 6, 1955). "Mayor Easy Winner Approve 2-Year Term New City Hall Lost". Toronto Daily Star. pp. 1, 14. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[star20160918-2] Ivanov, Andrej (September 17, 2016). "Sep 18, 1899: Old City Hall First Opens". Toronto Star. No. GT4.

[hall-3] "What City Hall might have looked like in Toronto". blogTO. August 16, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.

[No_New_City_Hall_1955-4] Hall, John (December 6, 1955). "$18,000,000 City Hall Rejected by Voters". The Globe & Mail. Toronto. p. 1. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via ProQuest.

[New_City_Hall_Opens-5] Star Staff (September 14, 1965). "Whoosh, Bang – It's Open! P.S. There was confusion, too at City Hall". Toronto Daily Star. pp. 1, 10. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

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