1956 Toronto municipal election
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 3, 1956. Incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips was easily reelected. Jean Newman became the first woman elected to the Board of Control, and topped the poll to become budget chief.
Toronto mayor[]
Nathan Phillips, elected two years earlier, faced only limited opposition from Trotskyist Ross Dowson and was easily reelected.
- Results
- Nathan Phillips - 80,352
- Ross Dowson - 9,834
Board of Control[]
All four sitting Board of Control members chose to run for re-election. Controller and former mayor Leslie Saunders was pushed off the board by Jean Newman's victory. Newman is the first woman to be elected to the Board of Control or to win a city-wide election in Toronto. The most senior two Controllers in terms of votes also sat on Metro Toronto Council.
- Results
- Jean Newman - 54,785
- Ford Brand (incumbent) - 54,178
- William Allen (incumbent) - 54,038
- Joseph Cornish (incumbent) - 49,385
- Leslie Saunders (incumbent) - 47,048
- Harry Bradley - 16,450
- Charles Sims - 6961
- George Rolland - 5,632
City council[]
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)
- (incumbent) - 6,318
- Fred Beavis - 3,636
- Jean Brown - 3,412
- (incumbent) - 2,578
- Dominic Di Stasi - 1,657
- Basil Ingleby - 494
- Ward 2 (Regent Park and Rosedale)
- William Dennison (incumbent) - 4,962
- May Birchard - 2,614
- Sterling Campbell - 2,567
- (incumbent) - 2,380
- Andrew Kavanaugh - 569
- Philip Rowley - 528
- Ward 3 (West Downtown and Summerhill)
- Ross Parry (incumbent) - 4,149
- - 1,980
- Richard James - 2,537
- Ward 4 (The Annex, Kensington Market and Garment District)
- Herbert Orliffe (incumbent) - 4,437
- Francis Chambers (incumbent) - 3,449
- David Rotenberg - 2,692
- Dorothy Cureatz - 628
- Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods and Little Italy)
- Philip Givens (incumbent) - 6,226
- (incumbent) - 5,177
- Ben Nobleman - 1,500
- Paul Pauk - 1,092
- Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale)
- (incumbent) - 8,691
- (incumbent) - 7,171
- William Stevens - 3,884
- Wallace Martin - 2,066
- John Shedden - 1,795
- George Jackson - 1,498
- Ward 7 (Bloor West Village)
- (incumbent) - 5,122
- John Kucherepa (incumbent) - 5,069
- - 1,548
- Stewart - 1,077
- William Repka - 579
- Ward 8 (The Beaches)
- Donald Summerville (incumbent) - 12,567
- (incumbent) - 9,577
- Chris Stavro - 2,488
- John Square - 1,146
- Ward 9 (North Toronto)
- (incumbent) - 12,084
- - 10,515
- Alex Thompson - 8,064
Results are taken from the December 4, 1956 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.
Changes[]
Ward 7 Alderman John Kucherepa resigned January 6, 1958 having been elected in the 1957 Federal Election; was appointed replacement on January 20.
Suburbs[]
East York[]
- Reeve
- - 5,757
- C. Howard Chandler - 4,510
Jack R. Allen defeated business executive C. Howard Chandler. Source: [1]
Etobicoke[]
- Reeve
- H.O. Waffle - 9,519
- Jack Bennett - 5,014
Deputy Reeve Waffle defeated Bennett, a former Toronto alderman to replace retiring reeve Bev Lewis.
- Deputy Reeve
- Murray Johnston - 8,005
- Charles Devlin - 6,429
Source: [1]
Forest Hill[]
- Reeve
- Laurie T. Simonsky (acclaimed)
Source: [1]
Leaside[]
- Mayor
- (x)Charles Hiscott (acclaimed)
Source: [1]
Long Branch[]
- Reeve
- (x)Marie Curtis - 1,522
- William Cambera - 553
- Sherman Anderson - 175
- Deputy Reeve
- Maurice Breen - 1,309
- Stanley Purvis - 888
Source: [1]
Mimico[]
- Mayor
- (x)William Arthur (Gus) Edwards - 1,802
- Owen Gertrude - 1,098
Source: [1]
New Toronto[]
- Mayor
- (x)Donald Russell - 1,783
- David Post - 810
Source: [1]
North York[]
- Reeve
- Vernon Singer - 24,045
- Maurice T. Hook - 5,302
Councillor Singer defeated former deputy reeve Hook to replace retiring reeve, . Source: [1]
Scarborough[]
- Reeve
- Albert Campbell - 13,470
- (x)Gus Harris - 11,569
- Deputy Reeve
- George R. Mason - 13,270
- John Algar - 11,361
Source: [1]
Swansea[]
- Reeve
- (x)Dorothy Hague (acclaimed)
- Deputy Reeve
- H.B. Squarebriggs - 1,233
- K.C. Woodsworth - 740
Source: [1]
Weston[]
- Mayor
- (x)Harry Clark (acclaimed)
Source: [1]
York[]
- Reeve
- - 8,742
- Walter Saunders - 7,736
- Charles McMaster - 1,993
Source: [1]
References[]
- Election Coverage. Toronto Star. December 4, 1956
- 1956 elections in Canada
- Municipal elections in Toronto
- 1956 in Ontario
- December 1956 events