Margaret Campbell (politician)
Encyclopedia
Margaret Campbell was a municipal and provincial politician from Toronto
, Canada
.
and attend Bishop Strachan School
, University College and then Osgoode Hall Law School
and was called to the bar in 1937. She married American film maker and aviator Sterling Campbell in 1942. During the Second World War she worked in counter-intelligence for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP). Her son Sterling Campbell
also served a term as a Liberal MPP from Sudbury.
she finished first in the ward, entitling her a position on Metro Council in addition to the Toronto seat. In 1966 she became only the second woman to win a seat on the four member Board of Control and became the city's budget chief. In the 1969 election
she ran for mayor, attempting to become the first female mayor of the city. Her opponents were the NDP linked incumbent William Dennison
and the official Liberal candidate Stephen Clarkson
. Campbell had been a member of the Progressive Conservative party for many years. Her mayoral campaign was run on an explicitly reform platform, calling for an end to megaproject
s and the adoption of Jane Jacobs
styled urbanism as advocated by David Crombie. She finished second to Dennison, losing by some 13,000 votes.
she resigned her judgeship and ran for the Liberal Party of Ontario, leaving the Tory party. St. George had been a staunchly Tory seat for decades, and Campbell faced a prominent opponent in Roy McMurtry
, but she was victorious becoming the first women elected to the Ontario Liberal Party. She represented the district until 1981, advocating on issues related to poverty, and in favour of women's and gay rights. She resigned her seat prior to the 1981 election so that she could spend more time with her ailing husband. In 1984, the Ontario Liberal Party established the Margaret Campbell Fund which supports female candidates who run for the party.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Background
Born Margaret Baird she was raised in RosedaleRosedale, Toronto
Rosedale is an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which was formerly the estate of William Botsford Jarvis, and so named by his wife, granddaughter of William Dummer Powell, for the wild roses that grew there in abundance....
and attend Bishop Strachan School
Bishop Strachan School
The Bishop Strachan School is Canada’s oldest day and boarding school for girls. The School has approximately 820 day students and 80 boarding students ranging from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 . The school seeks to nurture the academic, social, emotional, spiritual, creative and physical...
, University College and then Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
and was called to the bar in 1937. She married American film maker and aviator Sterling Campbell in 1942. During the Second World War she worked in counter-intelligence for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP). Her son Sterling Campbell
Sterling Campbell (politician)
Sterling Campbell is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal from 1987 to 1990....
also served a term as a Liberal MPP from Sudbury.
Municipal politics
Sterling ran for city council in the 1956 elections, but was unsuccessful. In the next city elections she ran herself, and was victorious in Ward 2. In the 1960 electionToronto municipal election, 1960
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Canada, on December 5, 1960. Six-year incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips was challenged by former mayor Allan Lamport and Controller Jean Newman. Phillips was returned to office....
she finished first in the ward, entitling her a position on Metro Council in addition to the Toronto seat. In 1966 she became only the second woman to win a seat on the four member Board of Control and became the city's budget chief. In the 1969 election
Toronto municipal election, 1969
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, 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...
she ran for mayor, attempting to become the first female mayor of the city. Her opponents were the NDP linked incumbent William Dennison
William Dennison
William Dennison or Denison may refer to:*William Dennison , 18th-century Master of University College, Oxford*William Dennison, Jr. , American politician, Governor of Ohio and U.S...
and the official Liberal candidate Stephen Clarkson
Stephen Clarkson
Stephen Clarkson, is one of Canada’s preeminent political scientists and a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto....
. Campbell had been a member of the Progressive Conservative party for many years. Her mayoral campaign was run on an explicitly reform platform, calling for an end to megaproject
Megaproject
A megaproject is an extremely large-scale investment project. Megaprojects are typically defined as costing more than US$1 billion and attracting a lot of public attention because of substantial impacts on communities, environment, and budgets. Megaprojects can also be defined as "initiatives that...
s and the adoption of Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs, was an American-Canadian writer and activist with primary interest in communities and urban planning and decay. She is best known for The Death and Life of Great American Cities , a powerful critique of the urban renewal policies of the 1950s in the United States...
styled urbanism as advocated by David Crombie. She finished second to Dennison, losing by some 13,000 votes.
Provincial politics
She briefly left politics to serve as a provincial court judge. When Allan Lawrence retired from the legislature and opened the provincial seat of St. GeorgeSt. George (Ontario provincial electoral district)
St. George was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that returned Members of Provincial Parliament to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario at Queen's Park. It was created in downtown Toronto in 1926 and was merged into the riding of St. George—St. David in 1987. The seat covered much...
she resigned her judgeship and ran for the Liberal Party of Ontario, leaving the Tory party. St. George had been a staunchly Tory seat for decades, and Campbell faced a prominent opponent in Roy McMurtry
Roy McMurtry
Roland "Roy" McMurtry, OC, OOnt is a judge and former politician in Ontario, Canada and the current Chancellor of York University.-Early life:McMurtry was born in Toronto and educated at St. Andrew's College, graduating in 1950...
, but she was victorious becoming the first women elected to the Ontario Liberal Party. She represented the district until 1981, advocating on issues related to poverty, and in favour of women's and gay rights. She resigned her seat prior to the 1981 election so that she could spend more time with her ailing husband. In 1984, the Ontario Liberal Party established the Margaret Campbell Fund which supports female candidates who run for the party.