1958 Toronto mayoral election

← 1956 December 1, 1958 1960 →

Candidate Nathan Phillips Ford Brand Joseph Cornish Popular vote 53,776 30,736 17,089 Percentage 52.9% 30.3% 16.8%

Mayor of Toronto before election Nathan Phillips Elected Mayor of Toronto Nathan Phillips

Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 1, 1958. Four year incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips won reelection against Controller Ford Brand, who was supported by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and Toronto Labour Council, and Controller Joseph Cornish.

One of the central issues was the proposal to develop the south side of Queen Street across from the new Toronto City Hall.

Results

Nathan Phillips - 53,776

Ford Brand - 30,736

Joseph Cornish - 17,089

A vote was held on extending the municipal franchise to all people who are aged 21 and over who are British subjects and have lived in the city for at least one year. At the time of the plebiscite, the right to vote was restricted to property owners and people living in two or more rooms with an assessed value of $400 or more. A similar plebiscite had been held in 1956 and passed by a margin of 56,000 to 26,000 but when the city asked the provincial government to pass legislation enacting the change, the government instead passed legislation allowing each municipality in the province to hold a referendum and so Toronto was required to put the question on the ballot again.^[1]

Extending the franchise

Yes - 59,729

No - 22,436

Source:^[2]

The two sitting controllers running for reelection to the Board of Control, Jean Newman and William Allen, easily won reelection. Newman topped the polls for the second time and after the election she immediately announced her intention to run for mayor in 1960. The decision of Brand and Cornish to run for mayor opened two vacancies on the board. These were won by conservative east end Alderman Donald Summerville and Co-operative Commonwealth Federation-backed Alderman William Dennison. Only narrowly losing was former Toronto mayor Leslie Saunders. Other notable candidates included former Controller Roy E. Belyea, Alderman Ross Parry, and anti-Blue Laws advocate James Karfilis.

The most senior two Controllers in terms of votes also sat on Metro Toronto Council.

Results

Jean Newman (incumbent) - 59,243

William Allen (incumbent) - 52,462

Donald Summerville - 49,476

William Dennison - 33,612

Leslie Saunders - 33,469

Roy E. Belyea - 27,024

Ross Parry - 25,195

James Karfilis - 10,971

Harry Bradley - 10,499

Ross Dowson - 4,539

George Rolland - 3,834

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) - 7,675

Fred Beavis (incumbent) - 5,540

William Lang - 4,321

Peter Metheus - 1,159

Joe Rosenblatt - 521

Ward 2 (Regent Park and Rosedale)

May Birchard (incumbent) - 3,355

Margaret Campbell - 3,295

Michael Grayson - 2,624

Stanley Price - 2,552

Douglas Shaw - 1,138

George Taylor - 925

Edwards - 881

Hugh Dowson - 520

Ward 3 (West Downtown and Summerhill)

William Archer - 3,307

Charles Tidy - 2,601

John MacVicar (incumbent) - 1,980

Gordon Peck - 1,480

Richard James - 1,288

Ralph Meakes - 576

James Sanderson - 308

Ward 4 (The Annex, Kensington Market and Garment District)

Herbert Orliffe (incumbent) - 4,256

Francis Chambers (incumbent) - 3,600

David Rotenberg - 2,631

Mark Frank - 802

Albert Finkelstein - 794

Dorothy Cureatz - 500

Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods and Little Italy)

Philip Givens (incumbent) - 4,897

Harold Menzies (incumbent) - 3,866

Louis Lockhart - 2,085

Joseph Piccininni - 1,268

Peter D'Agostino - 1,086

Ben Nobleman - 823

Paul Pauk - 792

John Anture - 541

John Mracek - 488

Anthony Fascioni - 478

Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale)

May Robinson (incumbent) - 8,492

Frank Clifton (incumbent) - 8,035

George Jackson - 2,761

Pauline Miles - 2,037

William Stevens - 2,008

Kenneth Sutherland - 1,607

Ward 7 (Bloor West Village)

Mary Temple - 4,339

William Davidson (incumbent) - 4,211

Thomas Wilson (incumbent) - 3,009

John O'Shea - 1,802

William Otis - 480

Ward 8 (The Beaches)

A.G. Cranham (incumbent) - 9,216

Alex Hodgins - 7,516

Chris Stavro - 5,276

Stanley Baker - 2,691

Edward Cox - 2,367

John Square - 1,341

Ward 9 (North Toronto)

Frank Nash (incumbent) - acclaimed

Kenneth Ostrander (incumbent) - acclaimed

Nash chosen Metro Councillor

Results are taken from the December 2, 1958 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.

Reeve

(incumbent)Jack Raymond Allen - 5,259

Harry G. Simpson - 4,655

Source:^[3]

Reeve

(incumbent)Henry Oscar Waffle - 10,963

Kerr - 9,787

Source:^[3]

Reeve

(incumbent)Laurie T. Simonsky (acclaimed)

Mayor

(incumbent)Charles Hiscott - 2,338

Page - 1,286

Source:^[3]

Reeve

(incumbent)Marie Curtis - 1,391

Cambers - 525

Source:^[3]

Mayor

(incumbent)William Arthur (Gus) Edwards - 1,654

Hugh Griggs - 1,464

Source:^[3]

Mayor

(incumbent)Donald Russell (acclaimed)

Reeve

Norman C. Goodhead 18,238

James Walker - 14,405

Source: Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]. 02 Dec 1958: 8.

Reeve

(incumbent)Albert Campbell - 12,153

Augustus Harris - 6,710

Taylor - 6,686

Broley - 1,581

Source:^[3]

Reeve

(incumbent)Dorothy Hague (acclaimed)

Mayor

Jack L. Holley - 1,333

Clark - 924

Source:^[3]

Reeve

(incumbent):Chris Tonks - 11,364

Charles McMaster - 3,258

Betty Shapero - 1,643

Source:^[3]

• Election Coverage. Toronto Star. December 2, 1958