# 1947 Toronto municipal election

Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1947. With little serious opposition Robert Hood Saunders was re-elected as mayor.
The election was a major defeat for the communist Labor-Progressive Party faction on city council, with Controller Stewart Smith and Alderman Dewar Ferguson being defeated. This left the party with only two seats on city council, Norman Freed and Charles Sims. This was somewhat mitigated by two communists winning seats on the Toronto Board of Education.
The vote also featured three referendums. Two were approved that would have a lasting effect on the city of Toronto. One called for the creation of the Regent Park housing project in the east end of the city. The second approved the city buying up the land northwest of the intersection of Bay and Queen streets for a city square and municipal buildings. This would later be the site of Nathan Phillips Square and Toronto City Hall. Rejected for a third time was a proposal to move to three year municipal terms.

## Toronto mayor

Mayor Robert Hood Saunders faced only fringe candidates: Frank O'Hearn, who would go on to found the New Capitalist Party, and Trotskyist Murray Dowson.

### Results

    Robert Hood Saunders - 92,762
    Frank O'Hearn - 9,477
    Murray Dowson - 3,180

## Board of Control

The only major change on the Board of Control was the defeat of Stewart Smith, the leader of the Communist faction at city hall. He was ousted by North Toronto alderman John Innes.

### Results

    Hiram E. McCallum (incumbent) - 58,524
    John Innes - 53,137
    David Balfour (incumbent) - 51,578
    Kenneth Bert McKellar (incumbent) - 49,680
    Stewart Smith (incumbent)- 42,106
    M.A. Sanderson - 26,136
    Harry Bradley - 10,749
    Harry Clairmont - 4,858

## City council
### Ward 1 (Riverdale)

    Charles Walton (incumbent) - 4,788
    Leslie Saunders - 4,596
    William Murdoch (incumbent) - 3,969
    W. Simpson - 2,067
    Harry Marley - 1,606

### Ward 2 (Cabbagetown and Rosedale)

    Louis Shannon (incumbent) - 4,102
    Everett Weaver - 3,215
    May Birchard (incumbent) - 3,079
    George A. Wilson - 3,015
    William Dennison - 2,248

### Ward 3 (West Downtown and Summerhill)

    Harold Fishleigh (incumbent) - 3,397
    Allan Lamport (incumbent) - 2,884
    John McVicar - 1,245
    Harry Gilbert - 682
    Karl Prager - 271

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

    Norman Freed (incumbent) - 4,910
    Nathan Phillips (incumbent) - 4,690
    Francis Chambers - 3,703
    C.G. Hamilton - 1,121

### Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods

    Charles Sims (incumbent) - 7,283
    Arthur Frost (incumbent) - 6,848
    Margaret Luckock - 4,936
    Patrick McKeown - 1,335

### Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale)

    George Granell - 8,526
    William Clifton - 6,803
    Dewar Ferguson (incumbent) - 5,775
    D.J. Bennett - 5,091
    Eamon Park - 1,825

### Ward 7 (West Toronto Junction)

    William Butt (incumbent) - 5,773
    E.C. Roelofson (incumbent) - 3,557
    J.A. Service - 2,240

### Ward 8 (The Beaches)

    W.H. Collings (incumbent) - 8,120
    Roy Mealing - 5,678
    William Howell (incumbent) - 5,319
    Murray Cotterill - 4,756
    James Davis - 1,522

### Ward 9 (North Toronto)

    Melville Wilson (incumbent) - 8,307
    Leonard Reilly - 6,173
    W.H. Harris - 5,999
    Alex Thompson - 4,109
    H.V. Locke - 3,542
    R.M. McLean - 1,480
Results taken from the January 2, 1947 Globe and Mail and might not exactly match final tallies.