predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place imagesize nationality office birth_date term_start image article_title term_end name
new position william r. allen 22 august 1983 toronto , ontario toronto , ontario 150px canadian 1st metro toronto chairman 21 january 1895 1953 frederick g. gardiner forest hill reeve.jpg fred gardiner
 1961 frederick goldwin gardiner
fred gardiner

frederick goldwin `` fred '' gardiner , qc , ll.d -lrb- january 21 , 1895 -- august 22 , 1983 -rrb- was a canadian politician , lawyer and businessman .
he was the first chairman of metropolitan toronto council , the governing body for the municipality of metropolitan toronto , from 1953 to 1961 .
as metro chairman , gardiner , nicknamed `` big daddy '' , was a staunch advocate of growth and expansion and was responsible for many capital works projects , including the gardiner expressway -lrb- named for him -rrb- and the don valley parkway .
gardiner , after graduating first in his law class , had a very successful law career .
he was a top criminal lawyer who commanded high fees .
in business , he invested wisely and at one time was the largest share-holder in the toronto-dominion bank .
he was involved in numerous other businesses , including consumer credit , sawmills , manufacturing and mining .
gardiner was a prominent member of the progressive conservative party of canada in both federal and provincial politics , organizing conventions and developing policy in the 1930s and 1940s .
he was instrumental in the updating of the conservative party as it was then known to the progressive conservative party to acknowledge its change in policy to incorporate progressive values .
he was a close adviser to ontario pc premiers george drew and leslie frost .
