1966 Toronto municipal election

Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 5, 1966. The elections were the first in Toronto after its merger with several smaller suburban communities on January 1, 1967. Forest Hill and Swansea were annexed by the City of Toronto, Leaside was merged with the Township of East York to become the Borough of East York. Weston was combined with the Township of York to form the Borough of York. The Village of Long Branch and the towns of Mimico and New Toronto were merged with the Township of Etobicoke to form the Borough of Etobicoke.

Rules were also changed to have municipal elections scheduled every three years, rather than every two as had been done previously.

Toronto mayoral race

Incumbent mayor Philip Givens was challenged by two strong opponents. Givens was associated with the Liberal Party while Controller William Archer was a Progressive Conservative. The winner was William Dennison, a former Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Member of Provincial Parliament who was a longtime member of the New Democratic Party. Dennison, despite his labour roots was considered the most conservative of the three candidates. His slogan was "Respect for the Taypayer's Dollar". Archer was the more centrist candidate, and had the endorsement of city councillors Charles Caccia, Kenneth Dear, and Hugh Bruce.

Central issues during the election was the extension of the Yonge subway line north of Eglinton and whether it should run on a cheaper above-ground route or should built underground so as not to demolish homes. Perhaps the most important issue was Givens' advocacy for Henry Moore's controversial sculpture The Archer for Nathan Phillips Square also remained an issue. Originally the city had agreed to pay $100,000 for the modernist sculpture, but city council rejected the idea. Instead Givens succeeded in raising the $100,000 from private donors and had the sculpture placed in the square in front of city hall. Dennison strongly objected to having the piece of art in such a prominent venue.

In the final vote, the city was divided along ethnic and class lines. Givens dominated the downtown core winning the votes of the young and the cultured. He also won the heavily Jewish neighbourhood of Forest Hill. Archer carried the wealthy Anglo-Saxon areas of Rosedale and North Toronto. Dennison was victorious by winning the working class districts in both the east and west end of the city, including strong votes from Italian and Polish areas.

Results: William Dennison - 59,363; Philip Givens (incumbent) - 54,525; William Archer 40,946; John Sara - 1,239

City council and Board of Control

Ward boundaries used in the 1966 election

The 1966 election was the last in Toronto for the Board of Control. It consisted of four members elected at large from across the city who then formed the executive on city council. The Board candidate with the most votes became council president and budget chief. Two sitting controllers, Dennison and Archer, opted to run for mayor. This resulted in a competitive race of six major candidates for the four spots. Those in the running were three city councillors: June Marks, Joseph Piccininni, and Herbert Orliffe; sitting controller Margaret Campbell; former mayor Allan Lamport; and Liberal MPP George Ben.

Results

Board of Control: Margaret Campbell (incumbent) - 88,036; June Marks - 77,655; Herbert Orliffe (incumbent) - 76,412; Allan Lamport - 67,677; George Ben - 63,206; Joseph Piccininni - 58,122; Phyllis Clarke - 10,162; Arthur Young - 9,550; John Charles Ewing - 6,071; Dorothy Cureatz - 4,262; Shaba Musa - 2,399

Ward 1 (Riverdale): Fred Beavis (incumbent) - 10,038; Oscar Sigsworth (incumbent) - 7,129; Vern Burnett - 2,305; Edward Cox - 1,708

Ward 2 (East Downtown and Rosedale): Michael Grayson (incumbent) - 6,426; Helen Johnston (incumbent) - 6,289; Harry Pope - 4,168; Donald Weir - 3,827; Keith Martin - 3,819; John Conforzi - 3,122; Gerald Quirke - 383

Ward 3 (West Downtown and Forest Hill): David Rotenberg (incumbent) - 13,683; Charles Caccia (incumbent) - 11,720; Peter Stollery - 4,007; Isador Milton - 3,382; Sidney Banks - 3,154; James Sanderson - 1,064

Ward 4 (The Annex, Kensington Market and Garment District): Horace Brown (incumbent) - 4,913; Monte Harris - 4,021; John Polowko - 1,601; Elizabeth Catty - 1,565; William Clarke - 1,472; Sam Komenar - 928

Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods): Tony O'Donohue - 5,920; Harold Menzies (incumbent) - 4,969; Elio Madonia - 3,675; Herry Wilk - 2,892; Pauline Miles - 1,361; Charles Weir - 931

Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale): Hugh Bruce (incumbent) - 6,692; Kenneth Dear (incumbent) - 5,827; Archie Chishom - 4,993; Robert Grossi - 3,168; John O'Brien - 2,332; Anne Fritz - 1,046

Ward 7 (High Park and Swansea): Mary Temple (incumbent) - 13,512; Ben Grys (incumbent) - 10,241; William Boytchuk - 5,876; John McRae - 1,891

Ward 8 (The Beaches): Tom Wardle Sr. (incumbent) - 13,512; Alice Summerville (incumbent) - 12,212; Alex Hodgins - 7,370; Edward Gillen - 874; John Square - 613

Ward 9 (North Toronto): Paul Pickett (incumbent) - 19,035; Richard Horkins - 16,241; Jules Pelletier - 6,513; Michael Comar - 1,771

Results are taken from the December 6, 1966 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.

Changes

Controller Herbert Orliffe died on July 3, 1967. Ward 1 Alderman Fred Beavis was appointed Controller July 6; Oscar Sigsworth was appointed Metro councilor and Joseph Piccininni was appointed Alderman.

Ward 3 Alderman Charles Caccia resigned June 1969 having been elected in the 1968 Federal Election and was not replaced.

Ward 9 Alderman Richard Horkins resigned on November 1, 1969 upon appointment as a Toronto Hydro Commissioner and was not replaced.

Suburbs

East York

Mayor: (x)True Davidson 12,312; Royden Brigham 8,112; Beth Nealson 7,957

(source: Globe and Mail, page 8, 6 Dec 1966)

Etobicoke

Mayor: Edward A. Horton 21,591; Murray Johnson 17,566; Thomas Berry 10,899

Board of Control (4 elected): Donald Russell 26,540; David Lacey 24,458; (x)John Carroll 24,138; W. Kenneth Robinson 21,367; George Bondy 20,528; Lloyd Shier 20,091; Hugh Griggs 18,366

(source: Globe and Mail, page 8, 6 Dec 1966)

North York

James Ditson Service, the last reeve of North York becomes its first mayor. Paul Godfrey and Robert Yuill were re-elected as ward alderman.

Mayor: (x)James Ditson Service - 53,131 (82.8%); Sam Wagman - 11,037 (17.2%)

Board of Control (4 elected): (x)G. Gordon Hurlburt - 42,060; (x)Basil H. Hall - 38,670; (x)Frank Watson - 35,826; Paul Hunt - 35,446; (x)Irv Paisley - 35,080; Fishleigh - 14,024

Scarborough

Mayor: Albert Campbell 38,517 (76.2%); Douglas Goddard 12,070 (23.8%)

Campbell, the outgoing reeve, is elected the first mayor of Scarborough.

Board of Control (4 elected): Robert W. White 34,886; Gus Harris 28,543; Brian Harrison 28,143; Karl Mallette 25,051; Oliver Crockford 21,869; George Barker 18,835

Scarborough elected its inaugural Board of Control.

Reference: "For Ab Campbell, it was probably the last hurrah", Toronto Daily Star (page 13), December 6, 1966,

York

Mayor: (x)Jack Mould 17,744; Albert Stollard 5,956; Charles J. McMaster 2,241

Board of Control (2 elected): Philip White 13,749; C. Wesley Boddington 11,826; Florence Gell 7,544; Charles Goodfellow 7,324; John George Tames 2,694

This was York's inaugural Board of Control

(source: Globe and Mail, page 8, 6 Dec 1966)

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References

Election Coverage. Toronto Star. December 6, 1966

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