page_title: 1969 Toronto municipal election
section_title: Toronto city council
hierarchical_section_title: 1969 Toronto municipal election / Toronto city council
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of Toronto Deutsch: Karte von Toronto
context_page_description: Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 1, 1969. Across Metro Toronto there were few surprising results, and city of Toronto incumbent mayor William Dennison was easily re-elected. The one dramatic exception to this was on Toronto city council, where a number of long-standing members lost to young new arrivals who shared a common vision of opposition to the megaprojects that had transformed Toronto throughout the post-war period. While the reform movement candidate for mayor lost, it gained a strong presence on city council. The 1970s reform faction dominated Toronto politics for the next decade.
context_section_description: With this election, there were three important changes in how Toronto was governed. The Board of Control was abolished, replaced by an executive committee of city council. Political parties were introduced into municipal politics, with both the Liberals and New Democrats running slates. The Progressive Conservatives chose not to run as an organized slate, despite its supporters having a majority of seats on the council prior to the election. The locally based Civic Action Party (CIVAC) also organized for the election. Founded by Ryerson professor David Crombie, it was a loose coalition of moderate reform-minded candidates. The Trotskyist League for Socialist Action also ran candidates as a party. Thirdly, the ward map was redrawn with two new wards and the replacement of strip wards with had extended from the northern limits of the city to the lake with block wards with Bloor Street as a border. Under the previous boundaries wealthier neighbourhoods that tended to be north of Bloor were in the same wards as poorer neighbourhoods south of Bloor which usually resulted in alderman being elected from richer neighbourhoods with higher turnout. As a result of the new boundaries, more affluent neighbourhoods north of Bloor were separated from what were normally poorer neighbourhoods south of Bloor and that, as a result, the new wards south of Bloor were more likely to elect alderman who represented the interests of poorer working class residents. The change occurred as a result of demands by social activists who went to the Ontario Municipal Board demanding a "block ward" system. As a result, the 1969 election saw several "reform" aldermen being elected, including John Sewell and Karl Jaffary in the new Ward 7 which had been carved out of the old Ward 2. Mayor Dennison commented that "They never would have been elected in Ward 2".
  In the Toronto election, 22 aldermen were elected from 11 wards, with the two highest vote-getters in each ward being elected. The top vote-getter in each ward also won a seat on Metro Council. The election was a disaster for the Liberals: Clarkson finished a distant third, and only two members were elected to city council. Most successful of the parties was CIVAC, who won five seats. Three New Democrats were elected, and the rest of the winning candidates had run as independents.
  The most striking change was the defeat of six incumbent, Tory, pro-development councillors by reform candidates. Michael Grayson, Oscar Sigsworth, Harold Menzies, Helen Johnston, Ken Dear, and Alice Summerville were defeated. Four other aldermen had retired prior to the election, and the new council contained ten new members. New arrivals included David Crombie, John Sewell, and Art Eggleton.
  A loose coalition was formed that controlled 11 of the 22 council seats, but there were sharp divisions between the left members such as Sewell and Jaffary and more right-wing members such as Hope and O'Donahue. The coalition soon broke down. O'Donohue, Rotenberg, Eggleton sided more often with the Old Guard pro-development faction leaving only seven members who consistently opposed urban renewal plans.
  The top two from each ward were elected to Toronto City Council. The top candidate from each ward also won a seat on Metro Toronto council.
  Ward 1 (Swansea and Bloor West Village)
  Ben Grys (incumbent)- 9,031
  William Boytchuk - 4,544
  Frank Paznar - 3,895
  William Zock (NDP) - 2,861
  Reta Hirons (NDP) - 2,069
  Robert Karfell (Liberal) - 1,245
  Harry Bradley - 800
  Ward 2 (Parkdale and Brockton)
  Allan Lamport (incumbent) - 5,817
  Archie Chisholm (NDP) - 4,412
  Kenneth Dear (incumbent) - 3,526
  Michael Comar (Liberal)- 1,670
  Robert Grossi - 1,345
  Nino De Costa (Liberal)- 1,116
  Michael Kaschuck - 677
  Harry Stone (League for Socialist Action)- 405
  Ward 3 (Davenport and Corso Italia)
  Hugh Bruce (Liberal, incumbent) - 5,131
  Joseph Piccininni (incumbent) - 4,340
  Fortunato Rao (NDP) - 1,563
  Marc Llanos (NDP) - 1,007
  Pamela Ward - 559
  Alice Maigis - 516
  Ward 4 (Trinity-Bellwoods and Little Italy)
  Tony O'Donohue (incumbent, CIVAC) - 4,962
  Art Eggleton (CIV
caption: Ward boundaries used in the 1969 election
exif: {}